The Body and Full Of Hell are no strangers to collaborations or to each other, as both acts have teamed up in the past together and individually with some of the undergrounds best bands (Thou, Code Orange, Krieg etc). One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache (Neurot) was an assault on the senses, and you’d expect nothing less from both bands, but with Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Seeker) they look to push the boundaries of what qualifies as music even further. Continue reading
Hamburg Germany’s Mantar claim that their blend of extreme metal is an amalgam of black metal, doom and punk. And without a doubt there are glimpses of the three on their latest LP, Ode to the Flame (Nuclear Blast). So does Ode live up to Mantar’s “kill, destroy, fuck shit up” mantra?
Short answer is I guess. The music on display on Ode to the Flame is a simulacrum of what bands like Anaal Nathrakh and Kvelertak have already finely honed. ‘Era Borealis’ and ‘The Hint’ are supposed to be doomy in nature but they don’t have the solid riffs needed construct memorable songs. The punk bits lack speed or sneer. And as far as the black metal quotient only ‘Schwanenstein’ feels authentic with its short spurt of blastbeats and (albeit melodramatic) keyboard outro.
With nothing really designed on the initial 17 minutes to keep you awake (more on that later), the listener has ample time to realize how monochrome Mantar’s sound really is. And I concede that it’s a fairly spartan act with Hanno Klänhardt handling guitars and vocals and Erinc Sakarya on the drums. That said, there is no excuse for Sakarya’s flat style. His contributions on ‘Born Reversed’ and ‘Carnal Rising’ can be distilled to just keeping time. Plus not having much in the way of atmospherics or a rhythm section expose Klanhardt’s lack of vocal range.
While Ode to the Flame is habitually rote for most of its duration, there are some positive (and frustrating) breakthroughs. ‘Oz’ and ‘Born Reversed’ have proper stoner/sludge riffs and swagger to warrant a good song. ‘I, Omen’ pisses in the wind musically for about a minute and a half before settling on a meaty groove.
Mantar aren’t quite the metal wrecking crew I expected, but certain fans will find enjoyment in their limited, but loud aesthetic.
5.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ
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There’s prolific, then there’s this bloke. Staggeringly Between the Fog and Shadows (Moribund) is the thirteenth full-length release in the last two years, and the seventh this year alone, from Italian blackheart Vardan. Given that, you’d think that his sound would be somewhat generic and withered by now but, save for a somewhat ungraceful production which has hissing riffs and atmospherics duelling with polished keys and drums, initially this isn’t bad.
That this is Black metal, there’s no doubt: the shimmering riffs and frozen rasps in abundance from the outset. There’s a mournful pace throughout, however; the opening title track possessing a tag-line riff that is hypnotic, rather repetitive and with little in the way of blastbeats or fast-picked tremolos. As layers are gradually added the track is saved from a certain tedium as the now-monotonous ostinato becomes ever-more dwarfed by effects and pain-filled shrieks.
A dulled, twanging lead and intriguing drum pattern gives the ensuing ‘Solitary Death of a Forest Spirit’ a curious and unexpected beginning. The subsequent explosion of icy wastes and a more prominent vocal is a welcome edge and, although the gentle rhythm suggests something intrinsic is missing, a forlorn, haunting beat is retained. This lack of speed does, however, highlight the tiresome structure, becoming even more noticeable as the track lengths stretch.
The opening rhythm of closer ‘Of Dead Dreams Through Funeral Eyes’ bizarrely brings the Manic Street Preachers ‘A Design for Life’ to mind, as a brief flare of fire dwindles to the almost sedentary, melancholic meander governing the album. In truth those flashes of sparkling riff and harsh aura detract from the fact that, in the background, very little changes: even in the hostile, emotive, yet achingly slow second movement of an almost interminable nineteen minutes.
There’s nothing particularly bad about the album. In reality however, only Psych or Prog metal can get away with unflinching patterns of this length, largely due to the promise of twists and turns along the way. Sadly there’s no such surprise here: only the irritation of decent sounds being undermined by an unvarying tendency to drift.
5.5/10
PAUL QUINN