Year : 2020
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 122 mb
Bio:
MANTICORA was formed in 1997 by Lars Larsen (vocals), Kristian Larsen (guitars) and Mads Volf (drums). In the early days the band was a foursome with bass player Rene as the last member – the young guys laying the foundation of the MANTICORA-trademark sound; hard hitting power metal with both epic and thrash elements.In 1998 MANTICORA signed with Intromental Management and shortly afterwards their first record deal was signed with Greek record label Black Lotus. The same year the band added an extra guitarist, and a keyboardist, to the line-up. The debut full-length disc, “Roots Of Eternity”, was released in summer 1999, and received tremendously good response from both media and fans around the world.2000 saw the band signing with Scarlet Records, and half a year later the next opus, “Darkness With Tales To Tell”, was released, once again receiving great acclaim. In 2001 bassist Rene decided to leave the band to focus on his family. Kasper Gram was enrolled in the band. Along with the change of bassist came also the change of guitarist, as Flemming left MANTICORA and Martin Arendal joined the band.In the fall 2002 “Hyperion” was released. This was the so-far most wide-spanning work of the band; an epic concept album, based on the award winning sci-fi novel “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons. The album was whole-heartedly embraced by fans and media worldwide, and with a European tour in the spring 2003 MANTICORA took another step up the ladder.In early 2004 the band began working on and releasing their next disc, “8 Deadly Sins”, yet another conceptual one. The album was recorded in Jailhouse Studios with producer Tommy Hansen (Helloween, Pretty Maids, etc.). In February 2005 the band toured throughout Europe together with Angra and Edenbridge. The tour was a great success for the band and they made a lot of new fans and friends there. Joining the band, was session-guitarist Stefan Johansson. The band then did their first ever (highly successful) US appareance at the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta, GA.With Martin Arendal (guitars) returning to the fold after the tour, the band once again went into studio, to record it’s 5th full-length album, the first part of the 2-album concept “The Black Circus”. Lyrically it deals with the horror story of a travelling circus. Once again produced by Tommy Hansen, the album was bigger, better and more adventurous than ever before. After a mini-European tour, alongside Andromeda, MANTICORA hit Jailhouse Studio to finalize the 2nd part of “The Black Circus”. With “The Black Circus Part 2” in their now extended catalogue, MANTICORAwent on both European and USA tours, as support for Jon Oliva’s Pain, and another tour was booked for Europe in May 2009, as support band for Circle II Circle. This time, going through 16 countries for 21 shows.In 2010 MANTICORA’s 7th full length album was released worldwide. “Safe” was an even darker journey in the musical universe of MANTICORA. A European headliner tour was booked for October 2010, taking the band through nine different countries.In August 2012, MANTICORA finally performed at the world’s largest metal festival – Wacken Open Air, and it lead to the band, re-opening the goodie-bag of writing new material. April 2013, saw the band, playing the prestigious PPM festival in Belgium, and a month later, Martin Arendal played his last show with MANTICORA (a smaller Danish show). Stefan Johansson – who appeared as session musician on the 2005 Angra tour, was enrolled as new guitarist and when bassplayer Kasper Gram left the band, MANTICORA found a completely unknown, but indecently talented guy in Sebastian Andersen.After a European headliner tour in 2014, Mads Volf decided to leave the drum-throne, to pursue other musical endeavors, and the last 3 years, MANTICORA have spent, writing a grandiose double concept album, based on the book, that leadsinger Lars has written in the meantime.Release is set for 2018. Until then – stay metal!
Album:
Two years after their acclaimed release “To Kill To Live To Kill,” Danish prog/thrash/power metallers MANTICORA come back with “To Live To Kill To Live,” the second part of their latest conceptual saga, based on the book written by vocalist Lars Larsen, entitled “To Kill To Live To Kill.” A bit confusing, isn’t it? The album brings one major change to their line-up, with Kasper Gram joining the band again after Sebastian Andersen’s departure. They have now also incorporated drummer Lawrence Dinamarca as a permanent member of the gang after recording the previous album and joining them on tour. It is worth mentioning that “To Kill To Live To Kill/To Live To Kill To Live” will be published as triple vinyl via ViciSolum Productions, becoming the first release by the band in this format.The album opens with “Katana – The Moths and The Dragonflies/Katana – Mud,” a true feast for your senses that lasts for almost 15 minutes, including pretty much every genre of metal known to men. In this bold move, characteristic to the band’s ambitious nature, they take you on a rollercoaster ride, changing gears between furious modern thrash metal and epic power metal, with plenty of progressive elements à la DREAM THEATER in the mix. The vocals are mostly clean with great choral arrangements, but they also include harsh screams and narrations to set the right mood. It’s a very cinematic track and a work of art of its own right. Kudos to MANTICORA for starting the album with a song like this, as it shows a lot of confidence in their abilities and how much they respect their fans.Next comes “To Nanjing,” a short and soft interlude heavily inspired by Japanese music, helping us to take a breath before continuing our journey. “The Farmer’s Tale, Pt. 3 – Eaten By The Beasts” is a darker track, released as a single with a gloomy video clip, showcasing some heavy riffing, amazing guitar solos, and great work by the rhythm section. It’s no coincidence that drummer Lawrence Dinamarca is also known as the Swedish Gene Hoglan because of his exquisite precision and outstanding energy. “Slaughter In The Desert Room” is my favorite song on the album, featuring female vocals by June Dark from the band CLANDESTINE, blending perfectly with Lars’s operatic voice. The riffs are melodic but also full of groove and the drumming is again unstoppable, including blasts beats and mind-blowing breakdown sections.“Through The Eyes Of The Killer – Filing Teeth” has a doomy feeling, with a slower tempo and heavier riffs, building a terrifying atmosphere complemented by harsh vocals and funeral-like melodies and beats. On the other hand, “Katana – Death Of The Meaning Of Life” is a bombastic and sometimes brutal display of speed and technique, without losing the sense of melody and careful crafting of each song. “Tasered/Ice Cage” is another favorite of mine, a power metal banquet with irresistible riffing, high energy, and a very operatic approach by Lars Larsen, who pours his guts out in a superb, histrionic vocal performance. “Goodbye Tina” brings some new elements to the table, with a more sentimental feeling but successfully avoids falling into cheesiness. It works perfectly as a sort of progressive ballad, reminiscent of classic QUEENSRYCHE.“Tasered/Removal” is another outstanding display of intensity and musicianship, incorporating plenty of harsh vocals, fast riffing, and crushing beats, making it a perfect track for headbanging in a live situation. To add some drama, we have “Stalin Strikes,” a fully instrumental, macabre interlude that will surely send shivers down your spine, while “Ten Thousand Cold Nights” is a short narration in Japanese that most of us won’t understand (although the band is huge in Japan). The final track of this two-part conceptual opus is the brilliant “Katana – Beheaded,” a complex and highly dynamic 7-minute song featuring epic choruses and great instrumental sections, including mind-bending guitar solos, powerful basslines, and fierce drumming. A glorious icing for this bloody cake, which is meant to be sliced with a Japanese sword.With “To Live To Kill To Live” MANTICORA deliver a truly flawless modern masterpiece without any major weak points, adding a lot of new dynamics and interesting elements when compared to the first installment of this duology, becoming perhaps their most eclectic album to date. The record flows perfectly from start to finish, with great production and outstanding performances by everyone involved, showing how inspired the current line-up is after so many years of absence before this new era of the band. I would dare to say at this point that “To Live To Kill To Live” will be surely featured in my album of the year list and I will be definitely looking forward to seeing them on tour again after their awesome show in Wacken 2019. Hopefully “the new normal” includes some MANTICORA on the road.
Line Up:
Kristian H. Larsen - Guitars
Lars F. Larsen - Vocals (lead) (Fool's Game, ex-Fear Itself, Moonchild (Iron Maiden tribute))
Kasper Gram - Bass (Killing Gandhi, Missing Tide, Moonchild (Iron Maiden tribute), ex-Evil Masquerade, ex-Ureas, ex-Wuthering Heights)
Stefan Johansson - Guitars (lead)
Lawrence Dinamarca - Drums (Avund, Carnal Forge, Loch Vostok, ex-Astral Carneval, ex-Bleeding Utopia, ex-Nightrage, ex-Hexed (live))
Tracklist:
01. Katana - The Moths And the Dragonflies/Katana - Mud
02. To Nanjing (Instrumental)
03. The Farmer's Tale Pt. 3 - Eaten By The Beasts
04. Slaughter In The Desert Room
05. Through The Eyes Of The Killer - Filing Teeth
06. Katana - Death Of The Meaning Of Life
07. Tasered/Ice Cage
08. Goodbye Tina
09. Tasered/Removal
10. Stalin Strikes (Instrumental)
11. Ten Thousand Cold Nights
12. Katana - Beheaded
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
