Postcards From Arkham
Manta

The Czech act is back with some new postcards, this time darker cards, this time also with a darker packaging. Lovecraftian mental-scapes are mentioned in the press release and as I was quite impressed with their latest effort I couldn’t help having some expectations for this one. Manta is the third album by the Czech act and it can be described as the most exciting album by them to date, it is darker and perhaps a bit more adventurous than the predecessor – I would describe it as a step up compared with what came before, not a big step up an upwards step nonetheless.

Atmospheric post black metal/rock is how the band themselves describe what they has to offer and that is probably a rather decent description of what you will hear. There are some growls and screams, some black metallic touches, but it is generally a bit more on the atmospheric and melodic side. The songs show variation and depth, they play for 41 minutes and are nine if you count them, which mean that the album doesn’t feel on the long side. It feels like a well thought out and really well produced album by a strong artist, I think we could describe it as fairly impressive without exaggerating.

Manta is a really strong album with good tracks, good depth, great atmospheres and no particular weaknesses – it is a very appealing album whichever way you look at it. It is darker and gloomier than the previous album and that fits the band like a glove, it makes the album interesting and exciting – a great piece to listen to. An album that offers a lot, the only thing one could have a minor complaint about it that the album doesn’t have a standout track that towers above the rest but that isn’t really something you expect from an album of this style. So, it comes highly recommended, and I think that you should check it out.

Great stuff indeed, and the conclusion will have to be that Postcards from Arkham is always a welcome thing to receive in the mailbox. Now you know that you ought to check this one out.

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