Well, let´s drop my personal manias and extravaganzas: this album was worth the money, first of all. Manatark is a working band that is doing things quite well. Nice presentation in black and white, serious lyrics and a good layout. Everything without using the old tired cliches like forests, scythes, swords and so on. To complete my great impressions on this CD, the music is the same correct: black metal with loose keyboards that don´t trespass the background and a great guitar work throughout the album, even with some progressive blinks in rhythm at times. There are also some industrial elements as some voice effects included or synths here and there providing certain sci-fi feeling, but nothing disturbing at all. I would label this album as “modern black metal”, because it´s clearly black but nothing similar to the tired clones of “Transylvanian Hunger” or “Pure Holocaust”, you know. Voice is not shrieky, guitars weave riffs with a great sense, musicians are skilled and the sound is absolutely ok, but perhaps it lacks a bit of power in the overall result. A very interesting band, without a doubt! If you are tired of Norwegian classics clones, this is an alternative without betrayals of any kind to the aggresiveness of the style, and having a good dose of originality. A band with an interesting present and future.

written by Fjordi

Playing time: 37.53