You have to hand it to Svart Records, home to some of the most varied sounds on the planet. Not many record labels have a roster as diverse as these guys, from black metal, to '70s styled progressive rock, to folk, to death metal, some avant-garde, and even the oddball music that comes from the German/Turkish duo known as Mantar. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Hanno and drummer/vocalist Erinc, Mantar play a kicked up, fascinating blend of punk, black metal, doom, and good old fashioned heavy rock & roll. Think Motorhead by way of Darkthrone with a little Melvins thrown in for good measure. Throughout Death By Burning you get that early Motorhead attitude, as songs like "Cult Witness", "Spit", and "Swinging the Eclipse" just rage along with crushing punk flavored old school metal vigor. But, the sludgy, doom elements do crop up, mixing with some black metal, as heard on "Astral Kannibal", "The Beserkers Path", and "Into the Golden Abyss". Most of the riffs on the album are quite good ("The Huntsman" kicks major ass, with Hellhammer styled riffing meeting up with Lemmy-ish vocals), as are the drumming and vocals. One of the songs that best dives into some serious sludge ridden black metal is "White Nights", as raging tremolo picked riffs collide with anguished vocals, crushing drum barrages, and slower, more doom laden riffing. They take this one step further on the epic closer "March Of The Crows", as waves of mountainous riffs and feedback just batter you senseless. Honestly, at various times throughout the CD it almost sounds like multiple bands are present, as the stylistic changes jump from song to song. It's all enjoyable though, so for those liking a bit of variety in their heavy music, Death By Burning is a quality, if schizophrenic listen, and another winner from the fine folks at Svart.
Track Listing
01_Spit
02_Cult Witness
03_Astral Kannibal
04_Into The Golden Abyss
05_Swinging The Eclipse
06_The Berserkers Path
07_The Huntsmen
08_The Stoning
09_White Nights
10_March Of The Crows
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