ALBUM REVIEW: Mantar – The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze

Another new review! The latest album from Sludge Metal heavyweights Mantar, who played a blinding set recently at Bloodstock festival.

1. The Knowing opens with pristine acoustic guitars, a very melodic introductory piece with a really wonderful vibe to it. There is not a lot going on, but it eases the listener in nicely.
2. Age Of The Absurd seems to start more how the album means to go on, with melodic lead guitar work, pounding drums and bass and finally walls of solid guitar work that hits like concrete slabs. In addition to this, the brisk guttural vocals and screams are incredibly well matched together, with plenty of fierce speeds to the track, this song is a hard hitter. The song is filled with awesome grooves and catchy hooks, plus it has so much punch to it. The riffs are wicked and the bass only part is damn heavy too. Awesome work.
3. Seek + Forget comes in with fuzzy guitars, blackened vocals and a really grim feel to it. The sense of rhythm within the band is really tight and flows nicely between heavier parts and the melodies. The breakneck rhythm of this song is one that we can headbang to, absolutely killer material with ferocity and so much groove. The vocals sound positively demented which works to create a really unique style for the music.
4. Taurus is a slow burner, it comes in with creeping clean guitar and ambient fuzz in the background. The song drops into classic riffing and some quiet lead work, the drum attack is absolutely perfect with amazing punctuation between them and the vocals. The guitar riffs are pretty simplistic but very effective at creating a dragging and heavy hit with each chord. The whole song has a really cool marching tempo and feel to it, good stuff.
5. Midgard Serpent (Seasons Of Failure) is much more bleak in how it is written but with absolutely awesome guitar and bass tone that has a really warm feel to it. The riffs are incredibly well written and memorable with some absolutely furious drums underneath. The chugging march is pretty much continued from the last song, but very well how it is done. The darker vibe of the song and depressive lyrics are really enjoyable, combined with its action packed attacks.
6. Dynasty Of Nails happens to feel like a very Southern Metal song with the type of groove it uses, an interesting combination with the more typical sludge parts, but the sheer catchiness is gripping, with one song flowing to the next incredibly well. Although not a great deal changes between track so far it has had a solidly impressive punch throughout.
7. Eternal Return comes in with feedback and drudging chords, this feels far more Doom Metal and a change in style for the first really noticeable time. It is a welcome change, as I personally like music to have diversity in it. The songwriting is excellent here and when the build up drops into pure Sludge Metal ecstasy and monstrous riffing everything is great, by far the best song so far with a really aggressive and menacing feel throughout. The vocals are more in the vein of classic Hardcore like Discharge and sound really cool.
8. Obey The Obscene comes in with some amazing tone, really simple chords coated in fuzzy distortion and there is ambience to spare. The songs almost going into Black n Roll territory with its harsh vocals and upbeat guitars/drums, this piece hits extremely hard with its breakneck, unrelenting riffs, blasting drums and snarled vocal hooks. When the piece goes back to the introduction with sampling over it, that was a really cool touch. Awesome work.
9. Anti Eternia seems to follow a more traditional formula of hammering drums, grungy riffs and a more gritty sound overall, the riffs are some of the best yet with a really catchy feel to them that really is perfect for head banging. The lead guitar sounds really nice in this piece and breaks it up very well.
10. The Formation Of Night opens with much more doomy riffs, gorgeously done at that. The vocals sound their best here, absolutely evil! The song seems to be a bit more laid back and it’s nice hearing a slight variation in pace. The song seems to be more atmospheric and the lyrics are really well written too. The ending is a really surprising one, really upbeat and actually quite beautiful.
11. Teeth Of The Sea comes in with some strange alarm like sample, grooves across all instruments and really cool cymbal use too. The more Hard Rock riffing of this works really well with the drums and the slightly less gnarly vocals. I am not as much a fan of this style as the other tracks, but its a cool track nonetheless. It picks the pace up in parts which is very welcome.
12. The Funeral is the final track of the album. It opens with ambient synths, and the riffs are giving one last call to arms. This song is a really bluesy piece of hell noise almost like Rob Zombie or something. I am loving the diversity here, something that would have been welcome throughout, but it is nice to see the band taking the chance on doing something different here. I think it pays off and is a really cool closing number with awesome lyrics and vocal hooks.

The album is full of action packed riffing, hammering drums and wicked vocals. It is not overly ambitious and seems to stay in its comfort zone, but what it does do (kick you in the face with punchy as hell tracks) it does well. I would have liked to see more variation, but that said, all the material is really good and made for a great listen. Certainly worth giving a shot, this genre is not my usual go to so I am sure it will be really appealing to many more people. A solid effort with some really great catchy parts and amazing riffs too. -6.5/10