Review of Manes - How The World Came To An End

There must be a rule in the Norwegian black metal handbook that states: should you ever choose to abandon black metal, you must take up industrial/electronica. After all, it’s happened to Ulver, The Kovenant, Manes of course, and several others. Interestingly, in spite of the limited approachability of How the World Came to an End, the band now has greater accessibility due to the transfer from Code666 to Candlelight. Even so, their experimental nature will remain a point of contention for some, and concerning their third full-length, there’s a lot that works and a lot that doesn’t.

The 8-bit introduction of “Deeprooted” is an endearing touch, which doesn’t last too long before Manes transition into heavier, electronic-based territory. Many of the soundclips, however, are fine during the first once-over, but grate on the nerves during repeated listens – especially the lengthy excerpt in “Son of Night Brother of Sleep.” While they may appear to make the songs, a la Shining, they quickly lose their appeal. Also, though the clean singing is always spot-on, the rapping (“Come to Pass,” “The Cure-All,” et cetera) is an intrusion if you have a low tolerance for the stuff. Truth be told, that’s the reason Candiria never found their way into my CD collection. At any rate, the industrial/electronica is always well done, and the Katatonia-like tonal sadness that permeates tracks such as “I Watch You Fall,” “A Cancer in Our Midst (Part One),” “Nobody Wants the Truth,” “My Journal of the Plague Years (Fuckmensch Warmensch),” and “Son of Night Brother of Sleep” is an excellent, welcome addition to an album already steeped in despair. Yeah, How the World Came to an End is a downer, but in a good way. Still, songs like “Last Lights” and “Transmigrant” are forgettable, and thus extraneous at best.

Ultimately, Manes come up short in their quest to provide listeners with a buy or die follow-up to their 2003 LP Vilosophe. Many of you readers will disagree with me, and while I’ve been accused of repeatedly scoring albums too low (I’m glowering at you, EthR), How the World Came to an End is a good record – not a great one.

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Manes

How The World Came To An End

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