Mantram
Silent Steps Outside

Debut test for this unique alternative group. Unique because these four Roman guys offer a mix of honest hard 'n heavy tracks without unnecessary overindulgence or technicalities for their own sake. Unique because they strive to sing in English, yet their lyrics lack pandering or clichés. Unique, finally, because it's a "female powered combo" with rear traction, meaning the rhythm section features a girl, the feisty drummer Laura.

A voice from nowhere and the CD opens with "The Torture", notable for its fast-paced rhythm under a wall of scratching guitars. It is followed by "Help Me", a little bomb for fans of wild pogo dancing, and then comes "Spitting blood", the first single released (check out the video on YouTube) and probably the best song on the CD with its distinctive syncopated rhythm between punk and drum 'n bass.

"A day like any other" takes us into the grim world of compulsive obsessions, and here too the interwoven guitar and bass rhythms stand out, as do the broken rhythms of the drums. "Wintershadows" is a great track, with an intro by vocalist Daniele Russo (skilled at shifting from clear to deliberately hoarse tones), a bass riff, and a rapid start with guitar and drums until the catchy but not predictable chorus. "God = Fate" slows down the pace a bit (but certainly not the tension) by introducing lyricism and telling evocatively the story of an escape from confinement. The thirteen tracks on the CD are almost all "angry" and intelligently calibrated to three minutes. The lyrics, as mentioned above, profound and never banal, are entirely composed by "Mike" Lipford, lead guitar.

"Silent Steps Outside" is an album of songs that say what they need to and leave the rest to the judgment of those who listen.

A good debut, worth keeping an eye on; it leaves us both confident and curious about the next steps the Mantram will take.

Rating: 3.5/5