We’ve seen boundaries pushed in black metal pretty much
since the origins of the genre, we’ve also seen a good number of bands shatter
those boundaries completely. Bands such as Ulver, In The Woods, Arcturus, and
Solefald may have cut their teeth in the Norwegian black metal scene but have since
gone on to achieve much more by moving beyond it. Manes are another such band, formed
in 1993 and performing black metal up to and including their album Under Ein
Blodraud Maane. In 2003 they took a radical departure with their album
Vilosophe, heading in a more avant-garde direction and have continued on that
path ever since, polarising the opinion of fans in the process as tends to
happen.
Cut to 2018, and Manes have returned with their latest album
Slow Motion Death Sequence, released
on August 24th via Debemur Morti Productions and it’s likely to be
no less divisive amongst metal fans but hopefully it’ll find a dedicated
audience who will appreciate what Manes are doing here. I can easily list some
of the styles Manes incorporate in their sound, including but not limited to
metal, electronica, trip hop, industrial, ambient, alternative rock and pop, frankly
though that list is about as relevant to the sound as a list of ingredients in
a cake recipe is to how the cake tastes when you’re eating it. Suffice to say,
Manes see genres not as templates but as tools to create something entirely of
their own, and what they’ve come up with here is something pretty special
indeed.
“Endetidstegn” lays the groundwork to Manes’ latest musical
vision, the initial minimalistic electronic beats and subdued moody vocals are
joined by layer after layer of sound with guitars, drums and additional female
vocals coming in and the song gradually building up to a powerful crescendo.
There’s a stark contrast between the restrained opening parts and the dramatic
conclusion of this song, highlighting the full range of sounds and emotions
Manes produce on this album. It’s a great start and a springboard to what comes
later, it’s soon apparent that Manes have far more tricks up their sleeves. There’s
“Scion” next, with a lighter, more upbeat approach, I’ll admit at first it took
me a while to warm to this particular song with the vocals coming across as jarring
at first but after a couple of plays I came to appreciate it a lot more. It’s a
strange thing with this album, on first listen there’s a deceptive air of
simplicity and accessibility, just enough to entice you in further, after a few
spins though you really come to appreciate the true depth of the music on offer
here and how meticulously crafted everything is. Repeated listens are essential,
the fourth will sound very different to the first.
I won’t describe every song on here, each song on Slow Motion Death Sequence is unique in
its own way though and there’s some real gems to be found. “Last Resort” is one
of my personal favourites, the early parts settling comfortably into familiar
sounds, perhaps reminiscent of In The Woods in places as well as recent
Anathema. Come the five-minute mark though this song really bursts into life,
with a blast of guitars backing up powerful female vocals with raw emotion pouring out.
It’s simply breath-taking and standing bang in the middle of the album serves
as a real peak to some already epic sounds on either side. There's some dark moments too, “Poison Enough For
Everyone” is a much bleaker and more depressive affair, with the downbeat almost
spoken vocals backed up by distorted synths soon spiralling into a Reznor-esque
anguished style.
There’s much more I could say about this album, suffice to
say it’s one of the most unique and rewarding albums I’ve heard all year. It’s hard
to draw reference points but from a metal perspective I’d say if you’re a fan
of In The Woods, Solstafir and / or later Anathema stuff this will be right up
your street, even though the metal aspects are only a small part of what Manes
are doing here, you’ll hear more Bowie influence than Black Sabbath. Ulver
would be an obvious comparison too, more because they share a similar path and spirit
of adventure though rather than with the actual sound, they’re very different bands
and it’s unfortunate that fans seem to have been less kind to Manes than they
were to Ulver. It is sad that albums like this will often be judged negatively
simply by not being “metal”, whereas in fact bands like Manes are producing outstanding
original music of a high calibre in a world where innovation is much harder to
find and most things have been done before. Hopefully that can be appreciated regardless of whether this is your cup of tea or not. At the end of the day I can draw all the comparisons you want,
tell you what’s going on in here but simple fact is Manes stand proudly in
their own place with Slow Motion Death Sequence,
this is an incredibly strong, rich and rewarding album and for me I’ll go out on
a limb and say that in a few years time I fully expect to be looking back on
this in the same way I look back on La
Masquerade Infernale and Perdition
City now. Incredible stuff, give it a chance.
