Manticora
8 Deadly Sins

I find it difficult to understand the reason behind this regression of the Danish band Manticora. Let's take a step back: the first two works, "Roots of Eternity" and "Darkness With Tales To Tell," although still not very personal and somewhat "simple," hit the mark with the passion the band had played those pieces. We are not talking about anything particularly stunning, but those two albums were a pleasure to listen to, even if they didn't make one exclaim about any miracles. In 2002, with the arrival of their third full-length album, titled "Hyperion," the band shifted towards a more personal approach, weighing down the sound and structuring the pieces more elaborately. A change that, in the opinion of the writer, did not guarantee the musical success the band had been hoping for. The arrival of "8 Deadly Sins" only confirms the negative aspects I had already written in the review of "Hyperion".

The album in question confirms a band that has finally found its dimension of personality, although there are still some nods to the greats of the genre (in this sense, the band is closer to Iced Earth of Jon Schaffer). The ten tracks that make up this fourth work, although surpassing those of "Hyperion" in power and musical strength, fail to reach the quality of the first two works, and in fact show us (again) a confused band, relying on solutions that spiral into themselves. I quote "Playing God": powerful riffs with a good rhythmic section in the background and then vocal lines that do not stand out, with guitar solutions that seem forced. The song becomes lackluster and once again the voice of the vocalist Lars Larsen does not convince, due to his annoying timbre and little inclination to adapt to the genre proposed by the band.

It is therefore regrettable to see how the Danes, who had given much hope, have regressed in this manner, and frankly, it is difficult for me to talk in depth about the album: that the technique and taste are there is undeniable, but the solutions that Manticora propose do not leave a mark and get lost in pieces that want to be aggressive and "horror-like" and end up being merely boring, even though there are some good examples of robust power metal in "Melancholic" and the excellent "Fall From Grace".

"8 Deadly Sins" highlights the negative signs already present with "Hyperion": Manticora cannot find the thread of the skein and proceed by inertia on a path already trodden countless times. A few thrashy riffs and some more melodic passages are not enough to make a good heavy/power metal album. This is a concept that seems to no longer belong to the Danish band.

1. "Present. If?" (3:07)
2. "King Of The Absurd" (6:06)
3. "Playing God" (5:42)
4. "Melancholic" (5:30)
5. "Creator Of Failure" (7:41)
6. "It Feels Like The End" (7:27)
7. "Enigma" (6:31)
8. "Fall From Grace" (4:20)
9. "Help Me Like No One Can" (5:12)
10. "Present. If, Then..." (3:18)