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MANTICORA - Safe

From Denmark with great wickedness ...

Album name: Safe

Label: Nightmare Records

Release Date: September 21, 2010

Genre: Thrash / Power Metal

Introduction:

Hands up who knows the Manticore: who is raising his hand in this moment all my respect. This is a Danish band, now active for several years and having a list on the back label, including works of all respect. Fad started more than a decade with a power enough canon, European-style, but we can already see some changes from the standard, then you are in an advanced sound violent but much more melodic. A sound that owes much to American power and the power of Iced Earth Blind Guardian Teutonic masters (all mixed and taken with great taste and personality). The only misfortune is that this great band that I have never been able, willing or unwilling, to break it deserves. In fact, there is still a group that we can not count among the "big" the metal scene, but which deserves, objectively, a place in this great podium. In 2010, again, with this seventh album, as usual, full of ideas, that does not betray the expectations, and that, basically, no big innovations more than in the past. The coordinates are always based on a power metal thrash heavily peppered with explosions, all delivered in a sound-based violence to which it is impossible to remain indifferent. And so Safe is also why, where, however, are turning more and more abundant towards a thrash sound, much heavier than before. If the trend (of the market, above all) by many metal bands, there is an approach to sound more melodic and calm, it is not for the Manticore, which seem to impress more and more, stimulating the dirty side and rough and removing a small slice of the melody. So, good and laudable intentions, though, as fans and "follower" of the band, I feel I can say that the album did not hit me like other masterpieces of the past. The peaks of quality achieved by the amazing 8 Deadly Sins or The saga of horror Black Circus I & II, are not affected by this new effort, while remaining a good album that you can listen with pleasure. The tracklist is a cascade of hot metal: 7 pieces for 50 minutes of thrash-power class and power, no ballads, just coming off melodic. This is safe for you.

Track By Track:

The attack was entrusted to "In The Abyss Of Desperation" , which begins with a thrash riff, then switch to more melodic pieces and other heavier, melodic chorus at the right point and an excellent guitar solo, accompanied by an omnipresent double bass. After all, this is a very classic song at Manticore, and as such will surely appreciated by lovers of these sounds. The following "Silence The Freedom , follows on the heels of the previous track. Of note triplet rhythm and a slight decrease in speed, enough elements uncharacteristic of the group's sound. In mid-song has a brief interlude slowed down, almost oriental flavor. Final entrusted to a massive riff that fades, accompanied by a pounding double bass. Despite the good workmanship of the piece, the music flows without leaving a particular impression on his head. We continue with the next "Complete" , a riff that opens up high-impact, heavy, syncopated, and then give way to great melodies accompanied by a light-based keyboard. So on a slow and dark structure, follow one another very good riffs, but with some hints and insightful progressive acceleration in the chorus. However, the latter a bit sin 'of anonymity, and disperses nell'incedere the song, which becomes deprived of the right thickness. From here on, the songs become more interesting and restores the quality of the disc: "From The Pain Of Loss (I Learned About The Truth)" is the single chosen for an earlier album, and is accompanied by a video tamarrissimo they appear to excess flames surrounding the band, intent on playing. Leaving aside this aspect, the track (the shortest of the album, 4 minutes and 37 seconds) is certainly very valid. Once again, the rhythms are generally slowed, leaving room for a heavy gait and matrix thrash with melodic parts in the vicinity of the solo and chorus. Interesting responses growl, deep and extremely malignant. "A Lake That Drained" is, in my opinion, the most successful song of the album. Although there is nothing that shines a new light, the pace once again be damn fast, powerful, and returns some 'the scent of the last works of the band. The chorus is the most beautiful things can be heard in an album by Manticora: choir, melodic and dark like few others, known to capture the attention and is implanted in the mind from the first listen. A good song then, that once completed, gives way to another highlight of the disc, or "Carrion Eaters" : song by the beautiful melodies, opened with an amazing syncopated guitar riffs. The chorus follows the ingredients to the refrain of the song before, or double bass, choir and a certain intrinsic melodic darkness. After this excellent song, which, however, does not add anything particularly innovative sound to which we have become accustomed Manticora, The album closes with the title track "Safe" : In this long suite, which touches the 14-minute duration, there is a bit 'of everything that made it great and especially the music of Danish combo. After a short introduction of clean guitar, the song (basically a continuous profusion of metal free-range) continues, reckless, through various shades and changes of time, while maintaining a purely "metal". So, for the first 10 minutes, little room is left for melodic, which, however, often we would expect to find in a metal-suite. It 's a constant succession of angry riffs and embedded in art, prevent voltage drops. The last 4 minutes are entrusted to a more slow and melodic, driven by a light acoustic guitar. So ends this further proof of the good band, but does not add anything too new for the genre began.

Techniques and Concluding remarks:

The entire work is a music very compact and coherent, without excessive voltage drop. However, the major limitation of the album is that this leads to consistency in the long run, in a certain sense of repetitiveness. The lack of ballad negatively affect the rest on this issue, bringing the album to be heavy enough in his lifetime. In addition, as mentioned above, even after repeated plays, songs, in principle, tend to easily print in mind (some exceptions). Despite all this, it is still a very good job, made with great technical skill and a lot of inventiveness in the succession of guitar riffs and arrangements. The singer Lars, although it is a very special voice, instantly recognizable, which gives a dark dimension to the music of Manticora, however, weaves the vocal textures that appear to be often flat and repetitive. But basically, this has always been a feature of the band's sound, which, without Lars, not buy more than size that makes the dark Manticora so unique and special in their kind. Ovation of respect for the other musicians: the pair of axes vortices guitar weaves and ispiratissimo always excellent, and the rhythm section works with extreme surgical precision, with a name inspired and always hides behind the monstrous. However, in this new Safe at both scores and production, the battery does not stand out as in previous releases, where instead he was very insistent and certainly more effective and dominant. The scores of rare and keyboard are poorer than before, probably also addressed the choice decided by the steering thrash sound. A final word on the cover: the symbol of Manticora on a completely black background. So nothing more obvious, a very negligible cover, which does not reflect what is the quality of the album. Artwork separately, also taking into account how difficult it is, nowadays, able to compose an album that sounds fresh and on the whole, quite original, and taking into account the innate brilliance of these five musicians from Denmark, we can only that decided to hoist a thumbs-up for Manticore.

Tracklist:

01. In The Abyss Of Desperation

02. Silence The Freedom

03. Complete
04. From The Pain Of Loss (I Learned About The Truth)
05. A Lake Drained That
06. Carrion Eaters
07. Safe (Searching / A Miracle / Fading / End (less)

Rating: 7.5