NEOVOID(WWW.NEOVOID.ORG) A flashback to the nineties: It's been some time now since the Norwegian ensemble Ulver realised the limitations of their black metal genre and forced themselves to reconsider their method of delivery; the result was more or less an abandonment of their black metal sound and a development into more electronic areas, a step which was welcomed by lots (like me) and despised by perhaps even more. All of a sudden, Ulver made a name for themselves as they went from being "an interesting black metal band" to "the band that saved the black metal scene from stagnation" (or "the Judas of black metal", depending on who you ask). The band themselves don't care anymore, they've distanced from that discussion years ago. A lot of bands had experimented with incorporating elements from other genres into their black metal at that time, but Ulver were the first to completely throw away their distorted guitars and blastbeats and embrace an entirely different genre. Now, this is not an Ulver review, but seeing that the new Manes album seems to repeat Ulver's stunt, a bit of background history was probably not all that bad an idea.
Now for the band in question. Manes started out as a black metal duo, and released in 1998 an album titled UNDER EN BLODRAUD MAANE. The thing about this debut album is, it was actually very very good. It was extremely cold and distant, the way black metal should be if you ask me, and though I'd be hard pressed to find comparisons, a mixture of slow Kvist and Emperor would probably be the best bid. Now, five years later, the band has expanded into a sextet and, well, they don't really play black metal anymore. At all. To be honest, I don't really have the vaguest idea what on Earth they're playing now. There's some trip hop here, there's some rock here, there's some jazz here, there's some jungle beats here, and I guess that there's even some metal left here as well. Somehow, this band took all these different influences (and a bit more) and made it sound like they've been playing this stuff all their life. This just proves the point that it doesn't matter what genre you play, how "metal" you are (Megadeth! Moonspell! Metallica! TAKE HEED!), if you're a superior songwriter, and it is obvious by now that these guys are.
All the songs on this album are very strong and varied. The final track, "Confluence", is a different case though. It's a German spoken word monologue evolving into an Exorcist-style rasp, with some background build-up of some kind, which wouldn't be so bad at all if it wasn't so long (5 and a half minute). The two or three last minutes alone would be a lot better, and the track is a bit of an anti-climax after the seven first solid songs. Furthermore, I have one more point of criticism: this album is too short!! Yes, quality beats quantity, and it's a good thing I'm never getting bored (until the last track), but ten minutes more of equally good stuff would have been a blast. It's so hard to satisfy a seasoned reviewer, I guess.
All in all, this album is a great example of remarkable songwriting skills and easily the best album I've yet heard from code666's (Manes' new label) roster. VILOSOPHE is highly recommended unless you are a stuck up true black metal fiend, and with this kind of evolution, I'm looking very much forward to Manes' next CD. 9.5/10
Now for the band in question. Manes started out as a black metal duo, and released in 1998 an album titled UNDER EN BLODRAUD MAANE. The thing about this debut album is, it was actually very very good. It was extremely cold and distant, the way black metal should be if you ask me, and though I'd be hard pressed to find comparisons, a mixture of slow Kvist and Emperor would probably be the best bid. Now, five years later, the band has expanded into a sextet and, well, they don't really play black metal anymore. At all. To be honest, I don't really have the vaguest idea what on Earth they're playing now. There's some trip hop here, there's some rock here, there's some jazz here, there's some jungle beats here, and I guess that there's even some metal left here as well. Somehow, this band took all these different influences (and a bit more) and made it sound like they've been playing this stuff all their life. This just proves the point that it doesn't matter what genre you play, how "metal" you are (Megadeth! Moonspell! Metallica! TAKE HEED!), if you're a superior songwriter, and it is obvious by now that these guys are.
All the songs on this album are very strong and varied. The final track, "Confluence", is a different case though. It's a German spoken word monologue evolving into an Exorcist-style rasp, with some background build-up of some kind, which wouldn't be so bad at all if it wasn't so long (5 and a half minute). The two or three last minutes alone would be a lot better, and the track is a bit of an anti-climax after the seven first solid songs. Furthermore, I have one more point of criticism: this album is too short!! Yes, quality beats quantity, and it's a good thing I'm never getting bored (until the last track), but ten minutes more of equally good stuff would have been a blast. It's so hard to satisfy a seasoned reviewer, I guess.
All in all, this album is a great example of remarkable songwriting skills and easily the best album I've yet heard from code666's (Manes' new label) roster. VILOSOPHE is highly recommended unless you are a stuck up true black metal fiend, and with this kind of evolution, I'm looking very much forward to Manes' next CD. 9.5/10
In brief it says this album = teh win!! 
