Manntra plays metal that’s influenced by Croatian folk, and perhaps a bit of goth and industrial. Their forthcoming album, Monster Mind Consuming, is due out March 26. It’s their fifth full-length album since 2012, and their second English-language album. The band collaboratively wrote the album, and Manntra‘s lead vocalist, Marko M. Sekul, also produced it.
In support of Monster Mind, Manntra has released three songs: “Slave,” “Ori Ori,” and my favorite of the trio, “Barren King.” The press release compares them to Warduna and Heilung. And… yeah, sure, I can hear it on the folk side. But Manntra has a lot more crunch; I think the closer pairing is Ensiferum. And I find the backing vocals a little reminiscent of what we hear on Rotting Christ‘s “Aealo.” Though not specifically intended to be viking metal, it’s close enough that I’m happy to roll Manntra up in my viking metal playlist, and I’m looking forward the full album.
This is good music and I like it. Take a listen in our Banger of the Weeks Playlist!
The Indy Review 