MANES

The two tracks on the "Vntrve" EP more or less represent the sound on "Be All End All". Stylistically the music is a dark, electronic oriented type of rock, that at times is similar sounding to some of Ulver´s post black metal-era releases. There weren´t many metal elements left on "How the World Came to an End (2007)", and that tendency continues on "Be All End All", which features very few heavy moments with distorted guitars. It´s to great effect when the metallic tinged guitars appear though, as the rest of the music is predominantly more subdued and melancholic in sound. Besides the few more rock/metal oriented moments on the album (which are indeed very few), the music is mostly atmospheric and pretty laid back experimental rock with a slight avant garde edge (featuring apocalyptic themes, alien sci-fi atmospheres, keyboards, and electronic effects in addition to regular rock instrumentation of guitars, bass, drums, and vocals).

The material are generally well composed and it´s overall a pleasant melancholic sounding album with some clever compositional depth. The sound production is detailed and professional sounding, and "Be All End All" is on most parameters a quality release by Manes. I wouldn´t call it groundbreaking and sometimes the similarities to Ulver´s music is a bit too apparent, but a 3.5 star (70%) is still well deserved.

"Vntrve" features 2 tracks and a full playing time of 8:45 minutes. "A Deathpact Most Imminent" is featured in the same version which will also appear on "Be All End All", while "Broken Fire" (which will also be featured on "Be All End All") is featured here in a "Slow Boat Alternative Mix".

You never know what to expect from a new Manes release as they´ve experimentet quite a lot with their sound since their early black metal days. Their next step was industrial/progressive metal and then a dark trip hop oriented sound with occasional use of rap vocals. A pretty interesting but at times also rather odd development in sound. The music on "Vntrve" is a dark experimental type of rock music with ambient electronic elements and a reference to Ulver is valid. While Manes are usually considered a metal act, you wouldn´t know that by listening to these two tracks, because there are few distorted guitars on the EP and if there are, they are not played in a riff oriented fashion. The tracks are both well composed and quite intriguing but not complex.

"Vntrve" is well produced. The sound production provides the music with the right dark atmosphere and "Vntrve" is all in all a solid and relatively promising teaser EP and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

First and foremost, I'm glad Manes are back. It's strange, this is about the fourth or fifth band that I've got into recently just before a reunion, so it doesn't really feel as if they've been gone for long. But it's been seven years since Manes dropped How the World Came to an End and for those who were fans at that time, it must feel like an age.

I got into Manes through their 2003 album Vilosophe, which I consider to be one of the most unique and interesting electronic rock records ever, and it is absurd that in the absence of Manes, no other artists have truly developed this style, using rock guitars and melodies with glitchy drums and strangely sampled atmospheres. Tracks like "Death of the Genuine", with the violent drum and bass-style drum samples and epic vocal lines, just have not been paralleled in the eleven years since, at least not in music that I've heard. I'll admit, How The World Came To And End wasn't fully to my liking as much as Vilosophe, as it dropped the focus on the rock and metal elements that made the fusion so interesting, focusing more on trip hop ambience and electronica.

So now, come 2014, and Manes are back. Allegedly, they existed as a re-incarnated black metal band last year for a bit, with Manii, but I really wasn't a huge fan of the sole release, Kollaps, in its depressive/suicidal black metal style, it lacked the ambience and texture of the early Manes black metal releases, and honestly, it was a while before I came to the realization that these two projects were related. We're to expect new material from Manes soon, but for now we have this, a release of miscellaneous recordings from the past two albums, alternate takes, and even a live version, as well as When Dreams Become Nightmares, a release from side project of Manes guitarist Cernunus, Lethe. Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets is meant to be a 'warm-up' of sorts, to remind us that the bands still exists, and to get rid of some material that may not be relevant to the newer original material.

Although I've often found b-side collections to be quite good, I can't exactly say this one has much promise. From a brief look, it appears we have four unreleased tracks, plus some alternate versions of tracks from Vilosophe and How The World Came to an End, even one with a different title ("One More Room" is actually "White Devil Black Shroud", although I can't actually pick what's different here), and a rather lacklustre and averagely recorded version of "Ende" from Vilosophe, despite that being one of their better tracks.

Of the four new (to my knowledge) tracks, I can say that I quite enjoy "Ease Yourself Back Into Consciousness" with its floating vocal melody reminiscent of material from Vilosophe, particularly "White Devil Black Shroud", but the rest of the tracks don't really bring anything new or interesting, they're just simple electronic/trip hop tracks with the standard Manes vocal over the top.

I think it's a good thing that the label, Debemur Morti, decided to release this at the same time as When Dreams Become Nightmares, so that when Manes fans disappointed in this release come back rather annoyed, they can immediately say "but no, look over there, a Manes album that doesn't suck", and everyone's happy. Sure, as I will point out in my review of that, it has its fair share of shortcomings, at least it has substance.

I can't really give Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets a really bad rating though, because although it's pretty lacklustre, it was never meant to be anything big. I think that the four tracks here that are new could have been edited to make a nice little EP, but none of the alternate versions here add to anything, especially shoving that live version of "Ende" as the second track, which I'm sure will alienate many people. This isn't a bad release, but it's completely unnecessary, even for big Manes fans. If you're looking for more electronic and trip hop influenced experimental rock, then When Dreams Become Nightmares is right over there, there's nothing to see here.

5.1/10

Originally written for my Facebook page/blog - www.facebook.com/neoprogisbestprog

Thanks to a nice recommendation, I picked up the 2003 album by this Norwegian band, and "Vilosophe" easily became a favorite album of mine, one of my top 5 metal related albums ever, and despite I was skeptic with that recommendation I fortunately took it and nowadays I am really happy with it. The thing is that I said "oh what a great album, I should listen to another of theirs", and I did it, I searched for their latest record, released in 2007 and entitled "How the World came to an End", and my feelings were completely different from the ones I had with Vilosophe, now I can say I regret discovering this album.

The reasons will be stated later, but now I can tell you that the exquisite experimentation I found in Vilosophe, lacks in this record, here they wanted to produce different experiments, and in my opinion, they terribly failed. The album consists of ten tracks making a total time of 45 minutes. This time I will be brief with my descriptions, I thought about not reviewing track by track here, but that is not my style, so I'll give you only some thoughts. "Deprooted" opens with a funny electronic sound that reminds me of Nintendo, then it changes and adds female vocals, the music is heavy, could be described as electronic metal. "Come to Pass" has some storm sound and that electronic-metal combination prevails. But here we have a thing that ruins it all, the music becomes electronic-hip hop- metal, and believe me it is horrible, I assume the band wanted to cross boundaries, but this time they failed.

"I Watch You Fall" has a new vocal style, fortunately is not the hip hop one, this sounds better, with more passion. However, those horrible vocals return in the last part, and of course that does not help. "A Cancer in our Mist" returns to that heavy Manes sound, in moments it reminds me a bit of Vilosophe, so it is not bad at all.

"Last Lights" starts slow and gradually progresses, they keep experimenting in each of the songs, and the most evident example is in the vocals. "Nobody wants the Truth" is an addictive song that may attract the listener, it has some nice changes and good guitar work. Despite being a decent track, in moments I think this album lacks of direction, I don't really know what was the main idea and goal of the band when creating this album.

"My Journal of the Plague Years" has a darker sound, robotic vocals and dramatic music, the sound overall is strong, though there are some soft passages, this is a cool track, in spite of some voices. "The Cure-All" is a softer track, it eases you from the previous storm and it is good for a minute. But later, those hip hop vocals return, and again, destroys the music. Hope manes do not repeat this mistake in future releases.

"Transmigrant" starts with some people's noises which later disappear, then the structure begins to be build up. While the music could be calm, the vocals sound too loud, I know it was on purpose, one more of their experiments, but this time does not sound that bad, actually it gives more strength to the song. Finally "Son of Night Brother of Sleep" reminds me to the last song of Vilosophe, because there is a voice speaking as foreground, while the music as background.

Well, I was disappointed with this album, needless to say, while I highly recommend Vilosophe, I would not recommend How the World came to an End, at all. My final grade is two stars. However?

Enjoy it!

If you know my tastes, then you know I am not really keen on metal in any of its forms, however I do enjoy some albums that I could count with one hand's fingers. To your surprise, one of those albums lies in this review. Some (at least 3) years ago I am not really sure if it was Assaf or Bryan who introduced me to this band, and I accepted because the name of the band caught my attention, nothing more. So later I listened to the album and since the first time I could say I enjoyed it. Since then, I play the album from time to time and have a good time while listening.

Manes is a band from Norway who started playing doom (as I have read), but in their second album their sound changed drastically, and they gave us "Vilosophe". It was released in 2003 and it is the one I am going to review. The album features eight songs and a total time of 47 minutes. The first song is entitled "Nodamnbrakes" and starts with a female voice speaking, some seconds later the music start at the same time as the singer's voice, anyway that female voice keep sounding lower, as background. Then the song turns heavier and the feeling is more intense, there is a nice but nervous keyboard sound. The structure is basically the same during the whole song, but it is nice to listen to that sudden change from soft to heavy.

"Diving with Your Hands Bound" is a long ten-minute track. A weird, experimental but really interesting composition which can be divided in two parts. The first one is soft, the music begins slowly and it progresses little by little. It makes some nice mood changes, then there is the voice along with drums, and an excellent use of synth, creating a calm atmosphere. Despite it may sound repetitive, it is good to appreciate the new figures and elements that are appearing while the seconds pass. This structure continues until minute three and a half, when it makes a short stop and then a new one is being built up. The guitars are more metal oriented, heavier but without being annoying. Since here, the song is actually very repetitive, but I would say addictive. They managed to connect the music with the listener properly, even with a listener like me, who don't like metal. However, a metal expert may argue this is really a metal album, I do not about it. And the second part of this track begins at minute eight and a half, when it seems to be fading out, but actually there is a beep keeping the song alive, and after some seconds an electronic composition starts. There are some guitar figures on it, but the song ends with that electronic sound.

"White Devil Black Shroud" is one of my favorite tracks. It is a soft guitar based composition whose atmosphere shares calm and even beauty. The drums accompanying those guitars make a great job, but also you have to notice the bass lines, which are also very interesting. This song is short but full of emotion and colors. When I play the album, I always use to repeat this track.

"Terminus a Quo/Terminus ad quem" starts with nice guitar notes that are repeating themselves for several rounds. After a minute the song makes another sudden change and becomes heavier and emotional. The drums and guitars are excellent, the vocals in moments sound far, leaving the instruments taking the lead role, but that's good, I like that sound actually. And worth mentioning, again, the use of synth, the atmosphere shares always the right feeling. The song finishes with some fading guitar and piano notes.

"Death of the Genuine" is a darker song, and you will notice it since the first seconds due to the voice and synth sound. Later it turns heavier and metalish, thanks to the guitars. The song progresses little by little, and seconds after the first guitar apparition, some kind of electronic drums enter. Again, their use of programming and electronic elements adds a special, yet interesting flavor.

"Ende" Is another of my favorite tracks, and I could say it is one of their most representative songs. It begins soft but little by little it is progressing. The drum work is excellent in the whole song and the guitars and synthesizer sounds help a lot. A very surprising thing here, is that they added a sax or trumpet sound, don't really know if it was done with the synth or the instrument itself appears as an extra and special guest. Though the song may be repetitive, I really dig it and enjoy it, especially the last part where the vocalist sings with all his heart.

"The Hardest of Comedowns" is another great song that combines the metal side of Manes, with their electronic experimentation. All the almost six minutes of this song have the same structure and the same mood. Until the final minute the music is fading out and the sound of a rain appears. When this happens, you are suddenly on the last track which is named "Confluence". Particularly I would not include this track because it is only spoken word, maybe If I understood the lyrics I could enjoy it more, but it is the voice with the rain, nothing more.

An excellent recommendation and a true surprise, what a great and original album this is. My final grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!

The EP features seven tracks distributed over a 33:21 minutes long playing time. Four of them are in a similar experimental electronic rock/metal style as the music style on the two above mentioned albums. There are distorted guitars on the tracks so they mostly remind me of "Vilosophe (2003)" though. The four tracks are vers/chorus structured with clean vocals and they are actually very accessible. The opening track "Cinder Alley" is a really strong track but I also greatly enjoy the pop oriented "Title" which reminds me a lot of "Dance Into The Fire" by Duran Duran. The three remaining tracks are different remixes of the song "Terminus a quo/Terminus ad quem" from "Vilosophe (2003)". Unfortunately it´s only "Terminus Rmx" that´s somewhat interesting. The other two remixes don´t do that much for me. Especially "Terminus dei Profundis", with it´s noisy and ambient soundscape, is rather redundant if you ask me.

Overall "[view]" is a good EP release by Manes even though the three remixes aren´t really that interesting. Had all songs been as great as the four original compositions I would probably have given a full 4 star (80%) rating. As it is now I think a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

The compilation features six tracks distributed over a 44:50 minutes long playing time. The first track is the 15:21 minutes long title track (supposedly re- recorded material from 1994-95). It´s an experimental post black metal track and a very enjoyable and well composed one at that. It´s harsh yet melodic, symphonic but never overblown. If the rest of the tracks on "Solve et Coagula" were of this high standard too I would have struggled to give less that a 4 (80%) star rating but unfortunately that´s not the case. The remaining five tracks are a remixed version of the "Ned I Stillheten (1994)" Demo. The tracks from the demo are remixed in a slower speed by Cernunnus (the mainman behind Manes). Now as the original Demo was recorded on a broken 4-track recorder and featured one of the most noisy and obnoxious lo-fi sound productions I´ve yet laid ears to, I didn´t think it was likely that I would enjoy the same demo tape in a remixed version in slower speed. And I was absolutely right in that assumption. What a scam! I´m sorry to use such harsh words but this is simply not good enough. I find it unacceptable that a band of Manes caliber release something like this. Fortunately the title track saves this release from total disaster and it is only because of that song that I will give a 1.5 - 2 star (35%) rating. I can´t recommend a purchase though which is really too bad since the title track is of such high quality. I do hope they will leave their black metal past behind after this release and concentrate on a new full-length studio album. Hopefully in their more current experimental rock/metal style.

The music style on "How the World Came to an End" takes Manes newfound electronic rock/metal music in an even more electronic/ambient direction and the metal elements are almost gone from the music now. The vocals are predominantly in ordinary clean singing style but as a new thing in Manes musical universe there´s rap style vocals on the album too. These are performed in both French and in English. The concept is still pretty dark which should be no surprise given the title of the album. The production is excellent. Layers upon layers of sounds, vocals and synths. The closest reference are bands like OSI (the most ambient and mellow tracks) and especially Chroma Key but a band like Ulver also comes to mind.

"How the World Came to an End" is not really what I expected from Manes after the excellent "Vilosophe (2003)" but it is an intriguing album in it´s own right. I´m just not as thrilled about this album as I was about "Vilosophe (2003)". First of all the metal elements which were the link to their past are almost completely gone and then there´s the rap vocals which I have a hard time appreciating. The rap vocals fortunately only appear on occasion though and don´t ruin my listening experience completely. So upon conclusion I find "How the World Came to an End" to be an interesting album, but there are elements I could have done without. If you can appreciate the occasional rap type vocals and the general lack of metal riffs, you might enjoy this more than I do. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though. No matter what I think about it, "How the World Came to an End" is still a quality release.

The music on this compilation album is old school Norwegian black metal. There´s a very noisy and muddy lo-fi sound quality on all tracks on the compilation, which probably makes "Svarte Skoger" hard to appreciate for anyone but the most hardcore old school black metal fan. Personally I can appreciate raw and filthy sound productions but the sound quality on these tracks is beyond what is tolerable. I simply draw the line when I can´t hear what´s going on even when I really concentrate.

After listening through the three demos which are all of pretty low quality we´re then treated to two even more badly produced and lo-fi tracks by the pre-Manes bands Perifa and Obscuro.

I´m probably not the right person to review this compilation because I can´t find one positive thing to say about it. Maybe hardcore fans of old school Norwegian black metal can find the charm here but it´s completely lost on me. A 1 star (20%) rating is warranted and I´m being nice.