Malpractice

Malpractice are a Finnish hard rock and progressive metal group from Kouvola, formed in 1994. After several line-up changes, the band settles on Joonas Koto and Tuomo Pärttö on guitars, Miikka Tikka on drums, Petri Vuorio on bass and Mika Uronen on vocals. They begin as a thrash metal band, but after the release of their first self-financed CD-EP, Memorial, they move towards a more melodic and progressive sound.

Early releases

Memorial appears in May 1996, followed in December of the same year by the CD-EP Frozen. Both releases are later out of print. Frozen attracts interest in Germany, France and Italy, helping to build the band’s profile outside Finland.

First album and line-up changes

In spring 1997, bass player Petri Vuorio leaves and is replaced by Jonas Mäki, who brings new material into the band’s writing. Malpractice then record their first full-length album, Of Shape And Balance, at Music Bros studio in Imatra in 1998 with engineer Miitri Aaltonen. The album is released in September 1998, and the band later signs with Finnish label Mastervox after negotiations following the record’s release.

Further development

In late 1998, guitarist Tuomo Pärttö leaves and is replaced by former Cornucopia guitarist Sami Pesonen. Drummer Miikka Tikka then departs in May 1999 and is replaced by Toni Paananen. With this line-up, the band writes new material and records the three-song demo Between Divided Platforms in 2001, followed by Triangular in 2002.

Spinefarm period

Malpractice reactivate in 2004 to record another demo, Circles And Lines, which leads to a deal with Spinefarm in December 2004. Their second full-length album, Deviation From The Flow, is recorded in April at Astia Studio with producer Anssi Kippo. Guitarist Markus Vanhala, known for work with Manitou and Omnium Gatherum, later takes over Sami Pesonen’s role after Pesonen’s work takes him abroad.