MANIMAL
“PURGATORIO”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Manimal are a heavy metal band from Sweden formed in 2001, releasing a couple of demos before their debut album ‘The Darkest Room’ emerged in 2009. The bands sophomore album ‘Trapped In The Shadows’ was released in 2015, with their third album ‘Purgatorio’ a summer 2018 release.

Combining the “foot on the monitor” style of Judas Priest and the dynamically epic poise of Dio, the new album from Manimal is simply brilliant. And there ends my review . . . of course not. I do have a few more words to say, so let’s launch the album and enjoy forty one minutes of heavenly heavy metal. The album powers into life with the fast and furious ‘Black Plague’. Hitting the ground hard and racing on at a high tempo, ‘Black Plague’ is an energetic and exciting romp, a simply stunning opening salvo. Moving swiftly into the title song, the album is infected with a massive injection of the melodic style of metal. Still very heavy, ‘Purgatorio’ takes on a more epic nature and is very heavy hitting and catchy, A sing a long style chorus is infectious and Manimal, after just two songs, have displayed everything that is great with the traditional sound of heavy metal. Energy injection, a tempo increase and the pace quickens as ‘Manimalized’ launches forth in an avalanche of blistering riffs and thunderous rhythms. Galloping hard, ‘Manimalized’ is more anthemic than either of the two previous songs and is a melodic metal monster.

Whoa, where did that heaviness come from? Pounding hard and stomping majestically, ‘Spreading The Dread’ is epic and doom metal riff laden…enter the Dio influence as ‘Spreading The Dread’ marches on. Manimal are adept at both fast paced and slow paced, thundering and thunderous, and with this album, have offered their best work to date. ‘Traitor’ maintains the albums heavy sound, lifting the tempo higher and injecting even more heaviness. Mid tempo and melodic, ‘Traitor’ is a perfect blend of the styles of both Judas Priest and Dio. Maybe that’s why I love this album so much as both these bands helped shape my listening preferences as a teenager growing up during the eighties, a glorious era for heavy metal evolution. ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ is the most Dio-esque song on the album and reminds me of the ‘Holy Diver’ and ‘Last In Line’ era. Both those albums were majestic and magnificent…the same two words can also be used to describe ‘Behind Enemy Lines’.

Not just content with delivering the traditional sound of heavy metal, Manimal unleash the progressive metal tinged ‘Denial’. An almighty throbbing rhythm sets the pace and tone for ‘Denial’, with its anthemic and chant style chorus a crowd pleaser for a live concert. This album is one of those that gets better and better with every song that passes by, and is most definitely a “just can’t stop listening to it” album. ‘Edge Of Darkness’ is a hustle and bustle, mid tempo romp that is more in your face than anything else on offer. Heaviness has not abated as the album has progressed, leaving you a breathless and exhausted listener with a great big huge fucking smile across your face. ‘Purgatorio’ (the album) has definitely been a pleasure to listen to, and is an album that will remain on my playlist for some time to come. Like the old saying “all good things come to an end”, this album ends with the powering inferno ‘The Fear Within’. Mixing in elements of British stalwarts Iron Maiden, ‘The Fear Within’ is an epic ending to a glorious album of excellent heavy metal. This is definitely one of the best albums I have heard for some time, and even though it is only forty one minutes in length with just nine songs on offer, it makes one helluva massive impact.

Overall, a breathless and pulsating album of very heavy, hard hitting heavy metal that will please and delight fans all over the world.

TRACKLIST

Black Plague
Purgatorio
Manimalized
Spreading The Dread
Traitor
Behind Enemy Lines
Denial
Edge Of Darkness
The Fear Within

http://www.manimal.se/
https://www.facebook.com/manimalofficial/

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