ALBUM REVIEW: Rebirth Of Consciousness – Manam

Considering they were formed in the back end of 2017, Italian death metal crew MANAM aren’t ones to stall on time. A year and change into their time as a formation and we already have an album to sink our teeth into. Rebirth Of Consciousness is laced with an eager, raw tone which introduces the quartet with plenty of snap; though sometimes its mission statement loses clarity.

Labelling Manam solely as death metal feels naive as soon as this record reaches full swing. Throughout the nine tracks on show here, the band peer their heads into the homes of a varying amount of metal styles. It’s not quite ‘something for everyone’ but there’s enough meshing here that makes Manam more accessible than you’d presume.

Inner Daemon echoes a TRIVIUM like tonality, while Revelation has a no nonsense, straight up metal stomp to its bones. It’s all interwoven into death metal walls with the occasional speed riff or vocal growl, but Rebirth Of Consciousness often chases something much more progressive than extremity.

More than brave skips between metal styles though, it’s the instrumentation of this record which has the biggest chance of stealing your heart. Guitarists Marco Salvador and Fabiola Bellomo remain uncompromisingly slick and dexterous throughout the album, and the duo excel whether it’s ground and pound, or technical excellence they’re chasing. Atman Denied and Sahara feature guitar work that it’s hard not to marvel at – this isn’t just straight up shredding, this is structured guitar lines with flexibility.

Where Rebirth Of Consciousness loses its momentum though is in its vocal ticks. The almost power metal tinged melodic chimes detract from Manam‘s raging instrumental ability. The choruses of both Supernova and Anam sound oddly dated, and while to their credit, the Italians play loosely with the genres of metal where they get chance – the switch from scathing growl to screeching power vocals is a constantly jarring mix. This never manages to derive from the band’s aura too heavily, but it certainly knocks the record back a foot or two.

Rebirth Of Consciousness is a death metal record that can be taken seriously. MANAM are technical wizards that keep you on your toes. What this record lacks in consistent quality it makes up for in its fun nature. At some point you’d imagine the four piece will attempt to nail down a vocal sound and run with it, but for the time being – MANAM are a band worth feasting your ears on.

Rating: 6/10

Rebirth of Consciousness is out now via Rockshot Records.

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