Manes
Maanens Natt
Ned I Stillheten
[Hammerheart]
These two CDs are re-releases of Manes' "Maanens Natt" and "Ned I Stillheten"
demos from 1993 and 1994, respectively. Before I get started with the
review, I'd like to voice a few complaints about the format of these discs.
"Maanens Natt" is around 16 minutes and "Ned I Stillheten" runs for about 25
minutes, and I think it would have been much wiser to put both of these
demos on one disc. It would definitely cost less to purchase if that was
the case. Also, the packaging (especially the covers) is, frankly speaking,
shit. I can't even tell what the cover to "Ned I Stillheten" is supposed to
be, so if anyone can figure out what it is, please e-mail me and let me know.
Anyway, packaging has absolutely no bearing on the music contained within,
so I'll quit griping about that. One thing that I can say for sure is that
despite these minor flaws, I'm very glad that Hammerheart released these
demos on CD format.
Overall, this stuff is fucking great; it's the melancholic black metal injection that I've been craving for quite a while. Manes treads the slow/mid-paced black metal path, and does so with great success. The music is dark and atmospheric in a depressive fashion, and it's not unusual to hear influences such as older Burzum pop up from time to time, especially in some of the more bleak and desolate riffs featured on both discs. A drum machine is present on both recordings, but it's usually restricted to simplistic/slow beats, and therefore doesn't stand out too much. Even though the material was recorded on a 4-track, everything is quite audible and reasonably decent sounding. In fact, the muffled 4-track sound adds to the obscurity of the music, making it truly haunting at times.
One thing that's a bit perplexing, however, is the fact that it's taken so long for Manes to get signed. Judging from the material presented on these demos, they should have been picked up a long time ago. They have a new full-length CD coming out sometime soon on Hammerheart, and I must say that I'm definitely looking forward to it. Until then, I definitely recommend that you pick up "Maanens Natt" and "Ned I Stillheten" if you're in the mood for dark, atmospheric black metal.
© 1998 baalberith
Overall, this stuff is fucking great; it's the melancholic black metal injection that I've been craving for quite a while. Manes treads the slow/mid-paced black metal path, and does so with great success. The music is dark and atmospheric in a depressive fashion, and it's not unusual to hear influences such as older Burzum pop up from time to time, especially in some of the more bleak and desolate riffs featured on both discs. A drum machine is present on both recordings, but it's usually restricted to simplistic/slow beats, and therefore doesn't stand out too much. Even though the material was recorded on a 4-track, everything is quite audible and reasonably decent sounding. In fact, the muffled 4-track sound adds to the obscurity of the music, making it truly haunting at times.
One thing that's a bit perplexing, however, is the fact that it's taken so long for Manes to get signed. Judging from the material presented on these demos, they should have been picked up a long time ago. They have a new full-length CD coming out sometime soon on Hammerheart, and I must say that I'm definitely looking forward to it. Until then, I definitely recommend that you pick up "Maanens Natt" and "Ned I Stillheten" if you're in the mood for dark, atmospheric black metal.
© 1998 baalberith