Having reviewed these guys once before, I am eager to hear this new offering. I have found myself listening to ‘Babies Of Revolution’ again and again and I wonder if this album will have the same effect. For those that don’t know, Manzana hail from Finland. They play a catchy assortment of metal and punk rock, though they refer to themselves as pop metal. They are female fronted and graced with an empowering attitude. You can read my previous review here. Let us now indulge in this new creation.
Stay Away From My Universe – The introduction to this album is alluring with its timely drums, complimentary guitar rhythms and effects. The vocals are clean, harmonised and even a few vocal effects are thrown in. Overall, the music has a spaced out theme to it making it very psychedelically influenced. The pace is speedy thus creating a catchy tempo. I must admit, it is a sure fire way of captivating your audience into your album with such trance like sounds.
“Stay away from my universe, Far from here, you’re the fallen one, Stay away from my universe, Darkness here, you’re time has come...”
Everything But You – The guitar rhythms dominate the entrance into this next track. The tempo is again upbeat. The sound in this one is more like the Manzana I know with its metallic, punk rock edge. Piritta, the vocalist, holds a good, strong chord and relays her voice well. Good track!
“Let’s talk about this trouble with me, Maybe we could set down and share how we feel...”
Good Times On The Run – This next track starts off with a country rock style. It has an underlying heavy guitar rhythm throughout it, though its pace is slower than its predecessors. It gives you the impression of driving from one roadside cafe to another; alone and in retreat of something. There really is that American country influence in here infused with some 80s hard rock sounds.
“In the morning with burning heart, Freedom calls, Now the journey is ready to start...”
Mother Can’t Rock – I was beginning to think this entire album had been based on the bands individual influences growing up as this track starts off sounding much like an 80s band I can’t recall the name of. However, it takes a huge turn in its musical direction by blasting into a very metal chorus. It’s quite a funny track in this respect. I guess someone’s mum got the brunt of a joke here. It’s a pretty good track overall and especially with this humorous element.
“Oh mama singing, mama singing, oh mama singing, only for you...”
Killer Baby – This next track starts out with a beefy metal groove which ultimately continues throughout the track. The bass plays a prominent role in this song as it carves out the melody for all to adhere to. The pace is steady at a medium tempo. The clarity in sound is excellent in this album as is the balance and overall mix.
“Killer babe, Smiling at my door, Killer babe, Saying just what I adore, Killer babe, Hiding the war inside, Killer babe, Questions are denied...”
Evil Inside – The pace picks up in this next song. It has a fairly catchy rhythm and there are a few random atmospheric effects in here. There is a good scream in here at about 02:00 and 03:19. It would be nice to hear more vocal outbursts from Piritta in the songs at times. The recordings seem constructed for radio air play and are therefore quite safe in their sound. This makes it seem a little unnatural in some respects, but overall they have created some good music.
“You let me in, Then throw me out, You want to push my face to the ground, Don’t wanna see, Don’t wanna hear, Must be the evil inside of me...”
Pretty Little Partner In Crime – Here we have another groove filled track with a steady pace. Again, it has that mainstream, radio friendly sound to it. There isn’t much depth to it and the chorus is overly repetitive. They seem to have lost their spark in this track which is quite disappointing. It started out ok but got a little too boring toward the end. Am not a fan of this one.
“Another day without remedy, Nobody could save me, Know that I get never enough...”
Demolition Doll – The pace picks up in this next track, reigniting their pulse. The lyrics and music have produced some depth back into them. When Manzana are insightful, filled with angst and fight their oppressor it is when they are at their best.
“Let me tell a story, About the girl I know, She was losing everything she loved, Very easily got lost...”
Speed Up The Train – Here we have the final track on the album. It’s got a good, beefy rhythm and a steady pace. The music has been well produced and I am really impressed with the sound engineering; all the instruments relay such clarity. It’s a nice way to end this album.
“I can never really know, What’s going in your mind, Every time I try to feel you, I can never really know, Why I wanna treat you so bad, Aint this life amazing...”
In essence, Manzana have created an erratic album. In some respects I am disappointed, but in another I find it to be a fun album not a serious one. Musically, I think Manzana have continued to create some good, catchy tracks. I have a feeling this is one of those albums that grow on you over time; the more you listen to it, the more you get into it. There is nothing really bad about the album it is just that there is nothing that truly stands out. On ‘Babies Of Revolution’ there were some stand out tracks but I can’t say the same for this one. The CD I received is the in-store copy. The cover has a whole band picture upon it with very bright colours and inside the sleeve has all the lyrics. On the inside of the back page is all the band info and thanks. On the very back of the CD is the track listing and individual band member pictures. Basically, if you are after some moderately paced music, then you should like this album. I can’t say this is a full on metal album but it is pop metal and that says it all. So in that respect, it is good for what it is. Check it out for yourself on the links below.
LINKS
Manzana Website
Manzana Myspace
Manzana Facebook
Review by Déa di Morté © 14 June 2011
All pictures courtesy of Manzana