BRUTALISM

It is about time that I get to write about a band from the Ukraine. I think this might be my first. Luckily I have plenty of observations to relate. MANIFEST, is labeled by the band as black metal, and it certainly is, but it not completely like other black metal bands I have heard. I call this a positive response. In fact, even though I might hear a fullness reminiscent of Satyricon, the only real band I hear in their sound that I recognize straight-away is Old Man’s Child. This is of course Galder’s project of one man from Norway (and who has joined the ranks of that increasingly bland band Dimmu Borgir for the cash $$$ I assume). In that project Galder uses very low muffled growls mixed distortedly into the blend along with full guitars and great drums. He has very obviously gone into a lower and lower growl over the time of Old Man’s Child as the newer recordings are fuller than the earlier efforts. Semargl has accomplished something similar here except the guitars open with something more akin to modern heavy rock but with the most amazing low muffled growls I have heard from a band in the black metal scene. These are certainly not death metal vox, but maybe something else altogether.

I think the best track on the CD is the third, “Holocaust 66,6%,” because the guitar opens with loud melancholia and then speeds up into guitar riffs a la Satyricon (esque) and slows down again to accompany those low growl. Quite effective. The main complaint I have about this track is that there is this little string bending riff the guitarist uses, although good by itself, in which the opening riffs are way too similar. Of course, as the name of the CD is MANIFEST, it could be argued that since the rest of the album contains all kinds of variances such as techno-like parts and dark ambience, these guitar riffs add a sense of purpose to the album; a whole piece of metal art (which I am not afraid to call it) instead of simply a collection of powerful metal tracks. Alright Semargl, what is next on the agenda? You have started well…