Saturday, June 11, 2011

EP Shakedown: Manhammer - Above The New Frontier

Manhammer is a hard band to get a hold of. It was damn near impossible for me to find any real information on this group, with only YouTube and porn sites popping up with most of my searches. I ended up having to turn to the SludgeSwamp, as they had at least a link to the band's MySpace. I also found another band called ManHammer, and a 'Future Site For Manhammer,' so maybe I did find them after all. I think the first focus of this band should be to raise themselves up from the dirge that a search of Manhammer pulls up. Your web identity is everything, and if people can't find you you're losing some potential fans.

Musically, Above The New Frontier moves between styles of sludge, hardcore, and NWOAHM, with hints of drone and noise thrown in for good measure. Some songs are fast, thrashy and screamy, while others are slower, kind-of-doom with more guttural yelling. Some songs are also a lot more melodic (usually the slower ones) which is a welcome break from the thrash/hardcore ones. It's all very garage, very raw, and very high energy. I like their slower stuff, and obviously the more melodic, bringing one or two tracks into my 'enjoyable' range.

Very little about this EP really pulls at me, it's not something I can really get behind or truly enjoy, but I can see how people could. The high energy of this release scoops you into the mentality of the forgotten age of punk - real punk - while the heaviness of the music itself tears at your soul. Manhammer  has amazing presence of sound, and I can only imagine how great that transfers to a live show. Above The New Frontier, while obviously not for everyone, is an experience into itself. I wouldn't push this onto anyone who isn't really into metal or hardcore, but it is an interesting spin for anyone who is. I say check it out and pull what you can from the EP.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Sir first off thank you for the "on the fence" review. Second you may have been able to find the band better if you had spelled the name right. It is MAHNHAMMER, not Manhammer. Have a good day.

KRAZY KAT said...

There IS a band out there called ManHammer.. and it sounds much better than MahnHammer.. Check it out at manhammerband.com. It is a ninja metal band.

Unknown said...

Krazy Kat. Have you even listened to this band you call ManHammer. Ninjas don't use hammers silly. You can't even compare the two. Silly silly.

KRAZY KAT said...

Check out their music and you may get it.. Krazy Kat