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Manticora: The black circus (part two: disclosure)

06/11/08 || HailandKill

Continuing where “Letters” left off, Manticora’s “Disclosure” completes the chilling yarn the band first spun in 2006. To get the metal ball rolling, fast-forward past “Entrance” and hit the play button right at “Beauty Will Fade”. There. Bam! It fuckin’ thrashes. If Manticora rightfully belong in the power metal pantheon, then they represent the new school, its next chapter, the genre’s logical evolution. “Beauty Will Fade” is the speedy no-holds-barred material that we can only dream of hearing in the records we buy. Upping the already upped ante, mind blowing epic shit goes down on the sequel to “Gypsy’s Dance”. Nevermore could not have done better. The band lets loose—and Lars Larsen takes a long break – for the instrumental madness bedeviling “Intuneric V”. Things get a little out of hand when the jack off party spills over into “Haita Di Lupi”. Now these guys might not be on par with Dragonforce chops-wise, but they do have unwavering faith in the awesomeness of their music skills.

Manticora’s audience gets served more of the same on “When the Soulreapers Cry”. Allowing for a moment’s aside, the Soulreapers are these nightmarish creatures whom the gypsy’s feed uh, souls, the Black Circus itself a lure for potential victims – take that Set Abominae! This track thunders along to an unpredictable tempo, taking the story to its climactic end. “Intuneric VI” allows the album’s dazed audience a little time to breath after enduring the last 20-odd minutes of sonic whirlwind. On this latest interlude, a somber film score crescendos and fades, the here they go again. For “All That Remains”, Manticora hammer away as if they wanted to get the song done in its entire grandiose complexity so they can go to the toilet and take a badly needed shit. Seriously now, “All That Remains” marks “Disclosure’s” peak, from here on in the actions slides towards a bitter ending. It’s here that the unnamed protagonist comes face to face with the terrible forces at work in the Black Circus.

The last bit of dialogue is spoken at “Intuneric VI”, dialogue that once again brings a theatrical feel to the album. At this point no one’s expecting the story to turn out badly, but it does. Awww… Sung from the perspective of the hapless main character, who was once full of enthusiasm when he first joined the Black Circus, “Of Madness In Its Purity” shares his thoughts as a raving lunatic. King Diamond should be very proud of his fellow Danes.

It’s too bad you can’t really remember much of “Disclosure” five minutes after listening to it. Why? The fuck if anybody knows, there’s probably a gypsy’s curse blighting Manticora’s fans with instantaneous amnesia. Anyway, if ya dig power metal and hate how effeminate it has gotten with some bands, Manticora are your salvation. Their music is dark, uplifting, and highly original. What more could you ask for?

How about songs that stick inside your head? Damn gypsies.

8 smelly gypsies out of 10.

Information
Released: 2007
Label: Locomotive Music
Website: www.manticora.dk
Band
Lars Larsen: vocals
Kristian Larsen: guitar
Martin Arendal: guitar
Madi Volf: drums
Kasper Gram: bass
Ronni “James Dio”: keyboards

Tracklist
01. Entrance
02. Beauty Will Fade
03. Gypsy’s Dance Part Two
04. Intuneric V
05. Haita Di Lupi
06. When The Soulreapers Cry
07. Intuneric VI
08. All That Remains
09. Intuneric VII
10. Of Madness In Its Purity

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