FemMetal Rating
8/10
…When “Full Spectrum” was an album amiable for fans of Heavy Metal and Literature, “Trust No Leaders” expanded the boundaries to be one that would please fans of Heavy Metal or Literature.
Expressive and chiming words of poetry propagating with layers of heavy music characterised by virtuosity and creativity is how I’d generally describe The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara’s upcoming album, “Trust No Leaders”. The UK-based band returning after the debut release “Full Spectrum” in 2021 with an album set to be released on the first day of July, have managed to enhance and refine their innovation – Heavy Metal fused with literature and poetry.
When someone considers the nature of the work of art presented by TCOMAS, they might come up with a list of difficulties to make this work desirable for the general public. Surely, there is a big base that would find poetry over Metal music likeable. However, would it be something the general fans of the boisterous genre enjoy? I believe that “Trust No Leaders” positively answers this question. Because when “Full Spectrum” was an album amiable for fans of Heavy Metal and Literature, “Trust No Leaders” expanded the boundaries to be one that would please fans of Heavy Metal or Literature. And TCOMAS achieved this simply by creating quality music across 11 tracks, presented with a very smart production that allowed that quality to be reflected and sensed in the best way possible throughout the album.
One of the brilliant features of “Trust No Leaders” is the alternating tempo and heaviness of the music in each song. As the album begins, we are met with “Human Sacrifice”, a fast and harsh song with a fascinating guitar solo. Following this heavy introduction, “The Prophet” takes the stage with a slower intro and a calmer mood in general (for a Metal song). This pattern continues throughout the album as the speed and/or heaviness alternates track after track, creating a contrast and a deviation from monotony. This is not the only way TCOMAS kept their album exciting. The poetry was frequently interrupted by harsh vocals, or vocalisation, again, jumping over the barrier of monotony that would have been a trap for this kind of music. Songs like “Count the Dead” and “Smell of Your Rot” provided some kind of relief as well with their softer nature compared to the rest of the album as well as the variety of instrument sounds.
Another way “Trust No Leaders” shows diversity is through both the topics and nature of the literature. Not only did the album talk about a variety of important issues, including self-discovery, but also addressed these issues in a variety of methods. When some songs like “Nothing But Dust” were darker and more serious than others, “The Chefs Song” approached its topic in a satirical way.
All that mentioned above, regarding both music and words, made “Trust No Leaders” similar to a class of a professor who teaches with stories and lively examples; At the end of the day, you learn something, and you enjoy learning it.
One more thing I loved about “Trust No Leaders” is the brilliant songwriting. I talked briefly about the guitar solo on “Human Sacrifice”, but this is only one of the fascinating instrumentation present on this album. “The Prophet” has that gorgeous bass play on it, while other songs, whatever their mood or tempo was, kept delivering one brilliant melody after the other.
At this point, I usually recommend the album to fans of certain genres or concepts in music. However, “Trust No Leaders” could be recommended to fans of any Metal or Rock sub-genres. Its progressive nature, in music and core art theory, would make any fan find something to enjoy in it.
“Trust No Leaders” will be out on the first of July. Follow The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara on the links below to stay up-to-date with their news and releases.
Tracklist:
- Human Sacrifice
- The Prophet
- Pound of Flesh
- Shaman
- The Chefs Song
- The Pied Piper
- Nothing but Dust
- Count the Dead
- Smell of Your Rot
- Hypermetamorphosis
- Scum of the Land
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