Manticora
Safe

The comeback of the Danish band Manticora is an album that surprises. From the very first listen, it leaves you puzzled, not because of the quality which remains high throughout all seven tracks, but rather because of the type of music found within. Indeed, the five band members, once again led by singer Lars Larsen, three years after the second chapter of "The Black Circus," have returned to the studio to bring to light the seventh album of a career that began in 1997 with the debut "Roots of Eternity," when the band was still on the German power metal shores. Manticora did not find fame with that album, nor with the subsequent and better "Darkness With Tales to Tell," before hitting a low with "Hyperion" and "8 Deadly Sins." After these two failures, the band sought to steer towards a way of playing unchained from the great fathers of German power and developed a decidedly more personal offering found in the two chapters of the concept "The Black Circus." Well, anyone expecting an album in the vein of these last two was grossly mistaken, because with Safe, Manticora greatly expand their musical horizons.

What is contained in this album is a brutal blend of heavy and thrash metal, and in some cases, a fleeting growl emerges, demonstrating the considerable heaviness of the sound. This choice is victorious not only for the final result but also for Larsen's voice, which with its low tone had never thrilled me in the past but fits marvelously within this offering, given the heavier music. The other band members, starting with guitarists Kristian Larsen and Martin Arendal and continuing with drummer Mads Volf, show good technique, creating layers of sheer power where the drums set everything with precision. This assertion is proven from the very start with "In the Abyss of Desperation", where powerful riffs emerge in pure thrash metal style. The band shows cohesion and compactness, also noticeable in the subsequent "Silence the Freedom": an excellent rhythm section and parts of heaviness that reminded me of some past works by bands like Pantera and Anthrax are highlighted. Following the same path as the previous ones are also the two "Complete" and "From the Pain of Loss (I Learned About the Truth)" which lead us to the splendid "A Lake That Drained": the power of the riffs fits wonderfully with the magnificent chorus, creating one of the most stirring moments of the entire work. Right at the end of the CD, we find the best episodes, because after the already mentioned song comes another magnificent example of perfectly amalgamated power/heavy/thrash that gives life to "Carrion Eaters". Yet despite all these positive pieces, the compositional peak arrives with the title track which concludes the album with its 14 minutes, where we find intense moments, others more reflective, all seasoned with fleeting choruses that have nothing to do with the happy tunes of bands like Freedom Call and Stratovarius.

Safe thus presents itself as an excellent product, which, released at the end of 2010, can be considered one of the happiest episodes of last year in the metal horizon. The Danish band has managed to redeem itself after a long period of decline, renewing its sound also through an unexpected formula far from what was proposed just a few years ago. The result is of absolute value and may finally guarantee the group the notoriety they have not yet experienced. This is a high-level work. For Manticora, the journey starts again here.

1. "In The Abyss Of Desperation" (5:32)
2. "Silence The Freedom" (7:05)
3. "Complete" (5:30)
4. "From The Pain Of Loss" (4:37)
5. "A Lake That Drained" (6:02)
6. "Carrion Eaters" (6:35)
7. "Safe" (14:09)