Bleeding Edge Ripping Crew

Artist : In Vain
Album : Mantra
Year : 2010

Genre : Metal
Label : Indie Recordings
Cat.nr : INDIE015CD

Source : CDDA
R.date : 23.01.2010
Size : 88,6 MB

Grabber : Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5
Encoder : LAME 3.97 -V2 --vbr-new
Bitrate : 185kbps

Website : http://myspace.com/invainno


Tracklist:

01. Captivating Solitude 07:02
02. Mannefall 07:03
03. Ain't No Lovin' 01:51
04. On the Banks of the Mississippi 08:10
05. Dark Prophets, Black Hearts 09:25
06. Wayakin (The Guardian Spirit of the Nez Perce) 09:19
07. Circle of Agony 09:04
08. Sombre Fall, Burdened Winter 14:36

66:30


Release Notes:

Norway's In Vain are another band that grow quite
harder to pin down, and there is really no need
for such tagging, as it is obvious from their
compositional style that they are not in search of
any such labels, just to provide a complete and
atmospheric listening experience that should,
ideally, leave a scar upon the soul of the
listener. But to get as close as I might, think of
Mantra, the band's second album, as a hybrid of
black, doom and progressive metal. It moves slowly
for the most part, powerfully, like a river
passing by various epochs of history, both
bloodied and mellow, on its course to a sea of
dreams. On the first listen, I admit I found much
of the material quite dull, but only because I was
not taking it at its face level. My next
impression was that there is simply more to In
Vain than the very simplistic, bruising rhythms
and glimmering melodies of its surface...which
might conjure memories of Katatonia's middle years
save for the different vocal style and the more
airy production values, and overall diversity of
sound.

"Captivating Solitude" starts with a light
acoustic flavor which seems like something a 90s
alternative/grunge rock band might have written
for a hit, but before a Kurt Cobain or Chris
Cornell can emerge here, it swiftly transforms
into thundering melodic black/doom, with layered
snarl/growl vocals that deliver emotional power
almost instantly. I'd also note the organs, and
the drums of Stig Reinhardtsen which get
interesting as he builds a march rhythm into the
bridge. "Ain't No Lovin" takes more of a subdued,
death/doom approach, with a creeping rhythm
reminiscent of something from Morbid Angel's
Domination, ala "Where the Slime Live", only not
so murky. "Mannefall" seems to come out of
nowhere, a bluegrass/folk song which sounds like
it belongs on a Mississippi front porch as the sky
darkens for a coming storm. I guess that makes "On
the Banks of Mississippi" no real shocker...a
fairly catchy, choppy melodic doom track which
really excels at the spaces between its plowing
rhythms, where the drums breathe into the nothing.
Hearing a Norwegian band focus on the South
is...well, invigorating!

"Dark Prophets, Black Hearts" veers into more of a
traditional doom/death, ala Candlemass meets Opeth
meets Paradise Lost, with a weavy plucking rhythm
through its gargantuan chords. However, this is
only the beginning, because it takes on an upbeat
melodic death visage after a moment or so.
"Wayakin" is a 9+ minute tribute to the Native
peoples of the Pacific Northwest US, and the
vocals here are a mix of tribal chanting and then
soaring chorus vocals with manly, mantric backups.
It's a pretty fascinating track that stands out
even among its varied neighbors, and once again, I
reiterate: hearing a Norwegian band that sings
about the ancient past of my own country, rather
than the other way around, is very refreshing!
"Circle of Agony" has a nice, melodic descent in
its opening moments, and the dual growl/snarl
vocals appear once more to add a strong effect of
gloom. This is perhaps one of the finer tracks on
the entire album, almost irresistable as it snakes
about its central themes and frolics through one
conquest to the next.

"Sombre Fall, Burdened Winter" is over 11 minutes
of melodic, doomed angst, in which the vocals once
again take on a minor shift towards a cleaner,
barking tone. The acoustic/piano breaks in the
track are nicely laid out like a snowy plain, and
the whole atmosphere past 4 minutes when the song
becomes a somber environmental folk piece is
really nice. The bonus track "Wayphearing
Stranger" is a cover of the traditional folk tune,
with dual male/female vocals, and it is of the
quality that In Vain should probably try and get
it on the soundtrack to some independent film,
because it could stir up some real buzz (though
the audience would be shocked when they hear the
metal tracks).

Despite the pristine production standards and
killer concepts behind the album, not all the
music is equally engrossing. Some of it sounds
like the garden variety, big budget death/doom
that a lot of Scandinavian bands produce, but then
some of it is quite fetching and memorable. What I
was most impressed with was the sheer diversity
and the lyrical matter, which I simply would not
ever expect from a Norse band. In the end, In Vain
have something just different enough to offer that
I feel they are a compelling band, even when the
music itself isn't the type you'll be looping
again and again in your head.