Review by Fran on April 27, 2022.

Born from the ashes of Hermética -the most prominent latinamerican thrash metal band after Sepultura- Malón marked the evolution from the vintage 80’s sound to the digital era sound and groove-influenced composition in our region. Their Brazilian counterpart included etchnic influences to their grooves though, Malón kept the hard-rock riffing and the speed and ferocity from their Hermética days, that’s why I love them so much. Hermética’s last album (“Víctimas del Vaciamiento” from 1993) featured a modern production too, but it isn’t as inspired and powerful as the consecutive couple of Malón’s registers. Nineteen years later, they released this album named Nuevo Orden Mundial... I find a much more mature band here, but the energy and authenticity is intact.

The thrashing beat is still raging in these twelve tracks, some of them are fast numbers like most of Malón classics but most of them are a little bit slower and mid-tempo; epic songs though. 'Nuevo Orden Mundial', the record opener, 'Recordar Para No Olvidar' and 'Triste Final' have the most of those fast paced sections. These fast bullets sound fresh and are well coined but, as time goes by and musicians grow old they find that music as a means of expression is very dynamic; you have to portray exactly how you feel in a particular moment and none feels exactly the same as twenty years before, that’s for sure. That’s why I think the band feels more comfortable with a heavier mid-paced riffing style, the rest of the cuts dwell between that traditional heavy metal beat and heavy breakdowns. 'Deshacer El Mundo' is a cover from spanish rock band Héroes Del Silencio. While it isn’t an exact copy from the original version, they kept the main chords and played them way heavier, in Malón’s fashion. The last track 'Una Luz' is actually a power ballad, sung by the band’s guitarist, Tano Romano, and features acoustic verses and melodic leads that are not to be found on any of the other songs.

Pato Strunz, the band’s longtime drummer, sounds in perfect shape. Double bass drum parts sound simply amazing, the cymbal work is world class and so are his drum breaks. Bassist Karlos Cuadrado plays simple bass lines along with the riffs and displays a rich tone with a slight distortion and the trademark “pick” sound. El Tano Romano’s composition signature is unique and unforgettable, present on every song. His leads are a masterclass of soloing and as I said before, he occasionally collaborates with some of the vocals. Claudio O’Connor, the band’s vocalist, has a high pitched and raspy tone. He doesn’t sound as potent as he did in the early days; his falsettos aren’t as long but he still manages to deliver the lyrics convincingly, with anger. Lyrically, the band deals with social issues… in fact, a couple of days ago on March the 24th, Argentinians commemorate the victims from the dictatorship that scourged the country from 1976 to 1983 and I think those lyrics fit pretty well within that concept.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10