Mantah – Antidote

Mantah is a Belgian nu-metal band that saw the light of day in late 2019. The band (based in Torhout) is featuring following five musicians; Sven Herssens (vocals), Bart Vandeportaele (guitars), Dennis Wyffels (guitars), Bert Nauwynck (bass) and Lothar Ryheul (drums). Three years after their debut full-length Evoke, Mantah released their follow-up album Antidote at the end of last year.

Tracklist:

01. Start
02. Fire
03. Phenomenal
04. How does it feel
05. Antidote
06. NGU
07. Going Down
08. Falling
09. Rise Up
10. Crazy (Seal cover)

Their musical style is described as ‘modern metal with a nod to the 90s’. This latest 10-tracker (nine orignal songs and one cover) is no exception, as they continue on their chosen path. Meanwhile, the band shows even more of its own personality on this latest opus, with some industrial influences (reminiscent of the likes of Fear Factory), crushing riffs typical for metalcore, and with a strong and huge melodic groove.

“Start” opens the record (watch the official music video below) where the vocals of Sven Herssens are changing from Jonathan Davis to more Wayne Static alike – although with a personal touch channeling the raw energy of this release. Two guitarists, Bart Vandeportaele and Dennis Wyffels, are creating a fantastic interplay, with a lot of bouncing and lower chugging to their style of playing. As a perfect example of this I’ll briefly mention the amazing guitar parts and solo on “Going Down” or the triumphant guitar intro for the following song named “Falling”. The riffs might sound basic, but also a bit frantic/frenzy with much going on. The bass work of Bert Nauwynck provides the crucial low-end frequency foundation and works with the drums of Lothar Ryheul to create the rhythmic groove, making the overall sound heavy, punchy and full.

Cover art isn’t a cover of a typical nu-metal artist, but in spite of that it’s nice and intriguing & fascinating, created by talented Guillian Maertens, who was also responsible for the band’s photography and music videos for the album’s release. Production- and sound-wise, Antidote marks a significant step forward (compared with their debut) in helping the band find a ‘sharper, heavier and more focused’ sound.

At the end of Antidote the quintet includes a cover of another influential song from that era, Seal’s anthem “Crazy”, where Mantah demonstrates that “Crazy” is equally impressive in this cover version.

There’s a room for growth and space to let some individuality grow, but Antidote is a significant step forward in a band’s career, and a fun easy album to listen to. Specially recommended for fans of well-known nu-metal giants like Korn, Dope, Linkin Park, Static-X and the aforementioned Fear Factory, but also the more modern descendants like While She Sleeps, Bring Me The Horizon and I Prevail.

For additional information on this sophomore record from Mantah visit their bandcamp.