With the many different iterations of metal out there, it can often feel hard to find something worth sinking your teeth into when it feels like every other band is trying to create something new whilst doing the exact opposite. But, even then, when an act comes around that actually does something that can easily stand on its own can be an instance that easily causes whiplash of a unique sort. Going into “Full Spectrum”, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but, if nothing else, whiplash is something that I felt in surplus!
I’ve always been of the firm belief that you need to have a good deal of diversity throughout any given album in order to make it something that can keep plenty of listeners in tune. It doesn’t have to be a lot! So, when I saw what all that The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara accomplished all within their over hour-long debut record, the whiplash was far too real for me with it in no way being a detriment to the experience that this album offers in its absolute entirety. In every single possible form, “Full Spectrum” does not follow any proper flow that we, as listeners, constantly latch onto with this band not only delivering something that leaps between the respective progressive realms of rock and metal but much further beyond as well. We’re given trips into all sorts of styles from ambient to techno to that rock with such performance and intrinsic musicianship that quickly shows us that this is a real peak of out-of-the-box thinking that enables the album to the point where the title itself shows us the literal full spectrum of what all Manimal and Samara are capable of. A unique vocal performance on top of that which feels more like a narration as opposed to a “proper” vocal performance, it’s the true homing beacon that we find ourselves attached to for all of “Full Spectrum” as we’re constantly thrown through all of the different sounds that are just as dazzling as they are varied. It’s such a work that never once repeats itself and is fighting norms whilst fitting right into them, and I can’t help but feel that anyone would be hard-pressed to find another creation that can stand toe-to-toe with what has been put forth in this ambitious debut.
This is a listen that is truly burgeoning with excellence that is just at the cusp of being achieved with the inexperience of Manimal and Samara serving as the only true detriment to this performance with that being but a tiny unfortunate point in the glorious light born forth from the luminous star that is “Full Spectrum”. It’s a creation the likes of which I haven’t heard something quite like in so long, and if this is just the start of what Manimal and Samara are able to produce then more is something that we must have!
“Full Spectrum” releases on February 26th!
LIKE The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara on Facebook here.
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