Search - Manntis :: Sleep in Your Grave

These Battle For Ozzfest finalists really make good.

Michael | FL United States | 07/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some who probably don't know, these guys were chosen to be a part of Battle For Ozzfest last summer, and guitarist Adair Cobley was chosen to be part of the crew as a representative of the band. As part of the crew, he and his other competitors had to endure certain tests to prove their might as a part of a band on the road. One such task was performing with a second stage act in front of countless concert goers. Adair played guitar with Darkest Hour, and put on one hell of a performance. The final task was for each person to perform with their band in front of such a crowd. Manntis was good enough to make it to the final three to perform, but didn't win. Fast forward to 1 year later, the band has a contract with Century Media and a debut album that is easily one of the best of the year. Enough has been said, check these guys out."

Things To Come From This Band

Chris Conlan (BreakingCustom.com) | Iowa | 07/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Review by Tyler Wagnon:



Manntis is yet another band playing catchy, American metalcore a la Lamb of God, God Forbid, and Shadows Fall. However, Sleep in Your Grave is infinitely more entertaining and far heavier than the newer releases from those bands.

Most of the songs are concise and stay under three minutes, giving them enough time to get in, kill it, and get out without meandering around too much. The arrangements are somewhat simplistic, but they are very solid nonetheless, including some nice leads and solos. Sometimes they do a bit of that Swedish melodic crap, but it's kept to a minimum.



The vocals are pretty nice as well as they are the typical throaty screams, but much like Lamb of God, you can actually understand what the man is saying. They drop some clean vocals once or twice, but they aren't overly ambitious and annoying like most.



"Axe of Redemption" is a great opening track as it sets the album up with a high level of energy and is a good introduction to the Manntis sound. Vocalist, Jake Daniels goes for a higher pitch scream on the end of "Reflections of You" that sounds excellent. The album would actually have a bit more depth if he integrated the higher screams more often. "A New Breed of Life" features some of those clean sung vocals mentioned above, which definitely could be done without.



For the most part, Manntis is just another metalcore band, but they have a real knack for writing catchy songs. Despite the lack of originality, Sleep in Your Grave is a surprisingly entertaining listen."

I liked most of what I heard

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 06/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"And the metalcore bands just keep coming! California's Manntis are one of the many metal bands who've formed in the 21st Century, and bring absolutely nothing new to the table. The genre has already officially been run into the ground, but the record industries keep heaping on groups such as this one. Thus, bands like Manntis are just overkill.



Manntis' popularity began to spread when they were selected to compete on MTV's "Battle Of The Bands." Though they did not win the contest, Manntis are definitely now more successful than the two bands they lost two (the relatively unknown Curse Your Name and the now defunct A Dozen Furies).



Their debut, "Sleep In Your Grave," was released in 2005. It kind of sounds like an amalgamation of every other metalcore record out there today, so it doesn't exactly break new ground. But at least it's a rip off of the genre as a whole, not just one band. (Manntis aren't as big of a copycat as, say, Caliban.)



And, regardless of the almost complete lack of innovation, there is plenty to enjoy here. The music is definitely influenced more by hardcore than metal: the rhythm section is rock hard and saturated with chunky, caustic, almost earth shaking riffs and several (but not too many) catchy breakdowns. Next, the vocals (which alternate between abrasive yells and visceral bellows) split the difference between Shadows Fall, Unearth and Remembering Never, and the production helps greatly contribute to the disc's constant rough edged sound. Lastly, this album also has just the right amount of melody--not too little that you can't notice it, but not too much that it waters down the sound, either.



Plus, "Sleep In Your Grave" includes a few unexpected ingredients which you won't find on the average metalcore C.D. For starters, it's short (28 minutes long), forceful, to the point, and packs a very emotional and intense, driving punch. And the occasional spoken word part, clean backing vocal refrain, high-pitched scream, and ripping guitar solo help to spice these songs up a bit and give them an extra kick.



"Axe Of Redemption" opens up the album with a throbbing rhythm, pounding, churning guitars, and a driving bass drum line. "Reflections Of You" and "A New Breed Of Life" have blood curdling screams, two winding guitar solos, and more heavy, catchy, pounding riffs. (Plus the latter song also features clean, backing vocals which work very well.) Later on, "Resist And Overcome" is bolstered by barbed guitars and a lumbering, cascading rhythm. The album closes with a much more subdued piece, "The End's Where It Begins," which is a nice, if cliche, acoustic strummed ballad which showcases frontman Jake Daniels' attempting a real singing voice.



All told, this disc makes for quite an enjoyable listen. If you're a metalcore fan, there's nothing to dislike on "Sleep In Your Grave." The musicianship on display here is very solid and the songwriting chops aren't too shabby, either."