London based rock outfit The Manic Shine also have a new album ready to be released soon. And guess what: "Trial And Triumph" is streaming now in full.
The album kicks off with Ball and chain with an intense change in keys for 20 odd seconds, leading the way for singer (Ozzie) to introduce their style of lyrics and vocals. They are rough and straight to the point with the chorus within the next 15 seconds. The chorus is admittedly catchy, with its melodic tune and drums keeping the fast pace. Throughout it is upbeat with lyrics about a starting again with someone. There is a guitar solo towards the closing of the song, showing off the many skills the band have in store.
The song Brakes immediately has a jumpy start and would be a hit in a club or as a remix. The lyrics are spaced and lead perfectly into the upbeat chorus. The whole song itself flows perfectly into whatever is next. The change in tempos and the key changes are complimentary to each other. The only thing I have to criticize about Brakes, is at 2:33 where there is nothing but the vocals singing “Don’t let go of me”, they seem out of place and honestly don’t work without the music’s backing.
Like each song in the album, Haze presents a poppunk style start to the song. The song uses more tuning on the voices, like a robot voice twist. Throughout the guitars and drums keep up together with a head banging beat. The song is stern and is hard to sit still to; it creates a head bopping atmosphere, it is something that just can’t be controlled. The feeling the song gives off is brilliant for the bands profile, it makes them a fun and energetic band just from their music.
What is great about Blind Love is the subtle start of guitar solos and vocals; leading up to a faster repetitive intro of the chorus. The chorus is what makes the song what it is, the back up vocals creating a depth in the song, singing “Blind Love” in-between breaks from the main vocals. What isn’t so great about the song is the sudden slow down after each chorus; it is a let down to the exciting parts to the song. Also, the ending doesn’t have much to relation to the song; the fading out to a whisper kills the song’s vibes completely. Overall the song is good, but not one of my personal favourites.
Following from Blind Love, Orbit has a lot going on. It has a criss-cross of drums and bass playing in harmony, they create an incredible beat with guitar solos over riding them. The only thing wrong with this song, is the pace of the vocals, in each verse, they are too slow compared to the upbeat backing of the instruments. However the slow vocals in the chorus work brilliantly, they mix with the guitars pumping out each chord. Three minutes onwards is a continuous instrumental of the guitars battling it out against the drums. The key change of vocals for the last minute of the song is truly the best past of the song; it is faster and electrifying, keeping up that energetic profile of the band.
What doesn’t appeal much to Hold on (together we’ll keep dreaming) is the false hope of a fast song, the intro gives off a promising speed but is instantly let down from the immediate slow down to the first verse. The song as a whole would work so much better as the album’s slow song. The lyrics however in the song are perfectly harmonised from the main vocals to the backing vocals and cannot be faulted. What is good about the song is the climaxes that lead up to the choruses. Like before, the vocals with no instruments backing them, it worked with Hold on, the silence behind the vocals gave the song a meaning.
The vocals in I don’t wanna hear it seem rushed, but the further into the song you are, the more sense they make. The rushed vocals fit well with the guitar riffs and give the band their famous upbeat signature back. Throughout the whole song it is intense and dark. What the only thing the band fails to see is how sudden changes in tempo don’t always work; sudden silences or drastic changes to the tempo of the song can kill the whole song. It is a major let down for them as they have a lot to offer with this album.
Reset is one of the best songs on the album; it is constantly bringing in new techniques, for instance: the small hint of electronic behind the vocals during the chorus. The small instrumentals are placed well in time with the rest of the song and The Manic Shine mastered fading out into whispers at the end of the song. From the small let down in previous songs, they really came back into their own in this song.
The beginning of Binary reminds me of a spaceship taking off with the swishing sounds. It works well with the guitars complicated finger work, bringing in every note they can play. The use of heavy guitars and drums alongside the vocals work well with the different speeds in the song. What does work well in the song is the sudden changes, the chorus is again catchy and the best part of the song overall. What would need working on are the vocals, they seem to disappear before we get a chance to appreciate them. The ending to the song is sudden and a brilliant way to end the album, it makes the album as a whole more dramatic, which is a good image for The Manic Shine.
Written by Victoria Mann, check out her tumblr or follow her on Twitter!
Trial And Triumph will be released on Nov 13, 2015. It will be released via . Stream it courtesy of Metalhammer. Also check out our The Manic Shine artist profile to find eventual tour dates in your area and links to the official web and social media pages of The Manic Shine.
And if you like what you hear, get it over at iTunes or Amazon.
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