There's something inherently fascinating and perplexing about two-piece metal bands, to me at least. Hearing two people wielding drums and guitar with reckless passion and producing the same - but usually even more - amount of noise and hate as a five-piece band will always amaze me. The synergy between two people, connected through music, amplifying and complimenting each other's sounds and together creating something way bigger than themselves - that's fucking special, ya know?
Mantar are a prime example of this and they possess a rare talent: the second you hear the first riff of the first song, you involuntarily start a) nodding in approval or b) moshing violently and throwing furniture out the window. Much like another two-piece metal outfit I enjoy, namely Portland-based The Body, Mantar are able to effortlessly create pure, obliterating metal that comes at you like a bunch of angry, pissed off lions shooting out from an open cage.
Without a moment's pause, Death by Burning, their debut album, storms through 10 tracks of face-splattering, ass-ripping, balls-to-the-wall metal. The moment you hit play, you are assaulted by non-stop insane & catchy pitt riffment and devastating drumming, along with well executed venomous vocals. Oh and the bass... - wait, there is no bass! All of this sonic destruction comes by way of guitar and drums alone. Holy shit!
Standout tracks? Spit, The Huntsmen and The Stoning, but the whole album is solid from start to finish. Okay, well maybe not right until the finish - the closing track, March of the Crows, is where the guys slow it down and try their hand at some hard-hitting, punishing doom metal in the vein of UK heavy-weights Conan. Obviously, they pull it off without breaking a sweat, but it seems like they're ending the album on a bit of a low-note. After riding a crazy, winding rollercoaster of some of the best riffage I've heard this year, I don't really wanna get off and go visit the haunted mansion. Death by Burning should have ended the same way it starts: guns blazing.
This small grievance aside, there is no denying that Mantar have dropped one of the best albums of 2014 and I can definitely see Death by Burning occupying a place in the year-end lists of metal publications. And this is a band that hasn't even existed for a full year yet. Oh man! Best of all, they hail from Germany and one dude is German and the other is Turkish, so you know I wanna interview these guys and talk to them about fucking currywurst and kebabs, because I'm a fat piece of shit who only cares about music and food. Hell yeah bitches!
Oh and the cover kinda looks like a woman with a birthday cake on hear head. I seriously can't handle the amount of awesome these guys are throwing at me.
Oh and the cover kinda looks like a woman with a birthday cake on hear head. I seriously can't handle the amount of awesome these guys are throwing at me.
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