Lord Mantis/Universal Death/Profound Lore Records/2019 CD Review

  Chicago,  Illinois's  Lord  Mantis  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  blackened  sludge  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Universal  Death"  which  will  be  released  on  November  22nd  by  Profound  Lore  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  blackened  metal  screams as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  an  angry  shouting  approach  at  times.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  clean  playing  are  also  added  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  desert  like  atmosphere  and  a  later  song  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  vocals,  blast  beats  can  also  be heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness with  some  touches  on  Sante  Muerte  and  the  Qliphotic  demons.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lord  Mantis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Santa  Muerte"  "Qliphotic  Alpha"  and  "Fleshworld".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.lordmantis.com

https://www.facebook.com/lordmantisofficial

 

Lord Mantis/Death Mask/Profound Lore/2014 CD Review

  Lord  Mantis  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this   zine  and  plays  a  very  blackened  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Death  Mask"  which  will  be  released  by  Profound  Lore.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  minute  later  you  can  hear  background  voices  before  the  blackened  sludge  style  screams  start  to  kick  in  and  the  riffing  starts  utilizing  some  melody  and  at  times  the music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  blast  beats  are  added  in  while  the  main  focus  is  on  the  slower,  darker  and  heavier  aspects  of  the  music.

  The  album  starts  to  find  its  own  sound  on  the  other  tracks  with  the  music  becoming  a  mixture  of  black  metal  and  sludge  and  at  times  you  can  hear  small  amounts  of  punk  rock  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  mixing  dark  and  melodic  parts  together  to  create  an  evil  atmosphere and  on  one  of  the  tracks  traces  of  industrial  and  noise  are  brought  in  along  with  a  brief  use  of  more  spoken  and  melodic  vocals.

  When  we  get  more  intro  the  album  drones  and  psychedelic  sounds  become  a  part  of  the  music  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  while  the  main  focus  is  still  on  being  very  heavy  and  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  fast  and  raw  black  metal  riffs  that  sound  even  more  powerful  when  the  blast  beats  are  added  in  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  robotic  vocals  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  mixing  in  traces  of  melodic,  post  black  metal  with  sludge..

  With  this  album  lord  Mantis  continue  the  blackened  sludge  of  previous  releases  while  also  being  a  bit  more  experimental  and  adding  in  more  melody  this  time  around  while  also  having  a  very  professional  sounding  production  and  showing  their  misanthropic  and  hatred  for  the  human  race  in  their  song  lyrics.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lord  Mantis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Mask"  "negative  Birth"  and  "Three  Crosses".  8  out  of  10.


https://www.facebook.com/lordmantisofficial
http://www.lordmantis.com

  

Lord Mantis/Pervertor/Candlelight Records/2012 CD Review

  Lord Mantis are a band from Chicago, Illinois that plays a mixture of black metal and sludge and this is a review of their 2012 album "Pervertor" which will be released by Candlelight Records.

Drums range from slow to mid  paced drumming with only a brief use of fast playing and blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow to mid paced sludge/doom metal riffs that are also influenced by black metal, thrash and punk while the lead guitars are very noisy and distorted sounding guitar solos and leads.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal and sludge style screams mixed in with some deep blackened death metal growls, while the lyrics cover dark, perverted and occult themes, as for the production it has a very dark, deep, heavy, powerful and professional sound to it.

In my opinion Lord Mantis are a very great sounding black metal/sludge hybrid and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Pervertor Of The Will" "Ritual Killer" and "At The Mouth". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.myspace.com/lordmantis

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Mantis/216320611726895