Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The song with the bestial, almost savage hook is the one that comes along and tears apart your soul, but also has the presence of mind to nurture its recovery by being honest, brutal perhaps, but far beyond the often-stolen kiss paraded by the pop boy band which lifts the spirits only for a moment.
The deep crushing of the soul as the bones first recoil to the sound of thunder, the sensing of the shifting atmosphere and the looming tempo of trepidation, all the signs and portents of a moment which lives deep in the memory and which leaves a long-lasting effect on the human psyche. It is to some the sound of the pestis, the gnawing of the bubbling disease under the skin, but then we must remember that we are all decedents of those that survived the Black Plague.
Gothenburg’s Manimal’s first single from their highly anticipated new album Purgatorio is of that strong hook classic feel, it doesn’t matter what genre it is in, what the music lover and fiendish devotee deserves is commitment from the artist to ensuring the head that doesn’t normally bang, will and with furious pleasure. The hook, all too important, is often regarded coming into early, the pleasure all too brief, what Samuel Nyman, Henrik Stenroos, Kenny Boufadene and Andre Holquivst have brought to the attention of the listener is that grand statement, the pursuit perhaps of the Progressive enlightenment within the structure of the Metal genre. The ability to catch the attention and make the whole story fasten together with assured and deep fascination; in a familiar way that fans of Queensryche or even Judas Priest might recognise.
A growl of a single, the initial skirmish which sees Black Plague as a virtue, not one to be frightened of, not to blame for the ills of the world, instead to relish as a forerunner to the joys of seeing purgatory become a symbol of the past.
Manimal’ new album Purgatorio is due for release on September 7th.
Ian D. Hall