Serving up a furious, fast-paced blend of street punk and hardcore energy, Malad deliver a firm kick to the jaw with a nostalgic punk sound that they describe as “different, raging and unexpected.”
The Rotterdam-based quintet started out in 2019 when vocalist Jordy and rhythm guitarist Jane had the passion to play punk rock after some previous projects didn’t work out. They recorded a three-track demo and played a few shows, before a few lineup changes ended with Timothy joining on drums. They brought in a lead guitarist – Ronny, who still helps out with songwriting in the background – and a bassist ahead of recording their debut album, before completing the lineup with Jelle on bass and lead guitarist Jens, who previously played in a band with Jane.
On the sound they’ve crafted since, the band told us: “It’s a hurricane of punk styles. Nothing is the same, it goes from really melodic singalong street punk to old-school punk rock and angry, raw hardcore punk with some edges of oi! But I always recommend to see us live. We always try to make the most energetic performance and get the crowd involved with the set.”
To give us a taste for this is Dode Democratie, which comes from their 2023 self-titled debut album. It opens up with a piercing guitar lick over heavy guitar chords that develops into a meandering lick over lively guitars and drums. The latter continue as Jordy’s vocals take over, and the lead guitar kicks back in. The intensity continues, including a section of more shouty vocals before a delicious little guitar solo tees up a final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Jordy told us: “Well, it’s a song about the elections. That I don’t believe in it anymore. It’s always been a big disappointment. You should never trust a politician. The music itself is really a street punk song, really melodic and raw at the same time. It’s also really a singalong. Sucker did some guest vocals on it as well. And the full song is in Dutch.”
The album is packed with more feisty punk goodness, including the boisterous Paranoid Nation, Not My War, the fast-paced Back Off!, short, sweet bangers like Chained Up and On Repeat, and the big anthemic United.
That gives us a taster for their second album, which will be released next year, on which Jordy said: “What people should expect is a really diverse album with totally different genres in punk. We always try to not make it sound like one song or style. So we really try to make a refreshing album where nothing is the same or expected. But it will be a dark one, I can tell you that!”
Malad’s members have a lot of favourite bands in common but listen to completely different genres on a daily basis. Their music is influenced by a wide spectrum of punky bands, including the likes of Motörhead, The Exploited, Oxymoron, Lions Law, Kaleko Urdangak, Blitz, Bad Religion, Rancid, Komintern Sect, a personal favourite The Hellacopters, Kvelertak, Crim and, intriguingly, a lot of bands from the Basque Country.
And on what inspires them to write music, Jordy tells us: “Of course the daily things in life. And also history. The hypocrisy of the world. But also really personal stuff. My view of the world but also other bands that inspire us.”
Malad are busy writing and recording their second album and a video to support it. Next year, they’ve already planned shows across Europe, which will take in the Basque Country, Belgium, Germany, Greece and Spain.
And Jordy added: “I would say come and find out everything you want to know about us at our gigs! We like meeting and connecting with new people around the world. And we promise to give you a hurricane of a show. And afterwards, we’ll party hard!”
You can follow Malad on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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