There must me something about Sweden that favors Rock and Metal Bands of any genre. Too bad it took Manimal so long to sign to a label and have their music heard by the masses. They made their first demo in 2002 and another two followed, until they self-released “The Darkest Room” earlier this year. Fortunately, this time they made a deal with AFM, through which the album is going to be released worldwide in June.
On the music itself, it is really hard to categorize Manimal’s music. It’s heavy metal with a lot of references to classic, prog and power metal bands. Most of the songs are pretty memorable, which is always a good thing. Heavy riffing, strong grooves and high pitched vocals are the main ingredients of Manimal. Even if I’m not a fan of this kind of singing I have to admit that the result is more than decent (although I would rate them higher otherwise).
I also find it hard to pick any favorites out of “The Darkest Room”. The whole album is pretty good even if the last couple of tracks are not in the same level as the rest.
This album definitely worth a listen and I hope that they will return with a new release soon.
| Track List | Line Up |
| 01. Shadows 02. The Darkest Room 03. Living Dead 04. I Am 04:36 05. Ordinary Man 06. Human Nature 07. Spinegrinder 08. Dreamers And Fools 09. The Life We Lived |
Samuel Nyman – Vocals Henrik Stenroos – Guitar Richard Mentzer – Drums Pether Mentzer – Bass |