After only one spin of Manes new album How The World Came To An End I knew I wasn’t going to like it, no-matter how many times I listened to it; it’s just too …. ‘Out There’! Mostly, it’s like they’ve went mental with Fruity Loops, digitally glued them into some semblance of order to make some tunes, added some guitars and drums (though they may also be out of a box), layered some vocals over it all and voila, an album. That I could handle; I could even go for the label ‘Electronic Metal’ or whatever; I still wouldn’t like it, but I would go with it. But, in no way, shape or form should the designation ‘Metal’ be used to describe any of this album, not when there is ‘Rapping’: Oh no, Rapping and Metal just do not gel; like one of the Forumites says – “Putting Rap in Metal is like putting a penis on a beautiful woman” – Or words to that effect. It doesn’t matter if you Rap in French, as happens on How The World…, it voids any claim to being Metal. According to their website, they were described as ‘Neo Avant Metal’ by their first record label Code666 but, and I quote – “The band themselves choose to ignore this rather silly ‘description’, and simply call the music a dark mix of metal and rock with electronic elements.” The only descriptors out of all these that gets close to How The World… is Avant, Dark and Electronic. Besides, that was yonks ago and Manes has morphed into a completely different assemblage since being labelled ‘Neo Avant Metal’. What they have created here I can really only describe as ‘Experimental, Indie, World, Hip-Hop, Electronica’; a strange and eclectic mix, granted, but, extremely appropriate.

Apparently Manes started out as purveyors of Black Metal but have now mutated into this Experimental, Indie, World, Hip-Hop, Electronica band. Whilst researching for this album I trawled through quite a few reviews of past releases and interviews to see if I could figure out where Manes was coming from, where they’re going and where they are right now. What I could gather was that their music has changed because they didn’t want to be stuck in any musical genre’s boundaries, rules, conventions or morals; that their music is not aimed at the masses, rather at the individual free-thinker. Put simply, they play whatever THEY want and if anyone doesn’t like it – tough shit! That they are still signed to a record label with that attitude is quite surprising, especially a label that leans more to the ‘Extreme’ end of the Metal spectrum like Candlelight. How long they stay signed to Candlelight if they keep creating stuff like How The World… remains to be seen. I’m also lead to believe that How The World… would appeal to fans of Stoner Metal, especially when you’ve got a ‘Buzz On’. Not that I condone the use of illegal mind altering substances to properly appreciate certain styles of music but, if anyone out there who does partake, or who lives in a country where the use of certain ‘Herbs’ is legal, would like to listen to How The World… whilst under the influence and give me their opinions it would be most appreciated.

To be honest, I only managed to listen to How The World… twice, and even at that I felt that the second listen was ‘Taking One For The Team’. How The World… is one of those albums that you either love or hate. There is no middle ground here, no ‘Ah, it’s not too bad’. So, there is going to be a great divide over this; it will either be “Whoa, you are so right!” or “You Cloth-Eared Numpty!” I know the band have probably put a great deal of hard work and effort into this record; bucked any trend or expectation and followed a path of their own making, and for this they should be applauded. Yet I can’t help thinking that the path they have chosen, completely severing all and any links to Metal music in general and their Black Metal roots in particular, has alienated them from their die-hard fans, and will not get too many new converts beating a path to their nearest record store. At the time of going to press I can only find one track from How The World… that you can listen to and that is Deeprooted which is on their MySpace site, along with some tracks from previous creations. There is also a varied selection of tracks available for download at their Official Site which will give you a taste of Manes in their previous guises. My advice on How The World Came To An End would definitely be ‘Buy at your own risk’, if possible, try and have a listen first!