White Mantis – Arrows At The Sun

Honestly, I didn’t expect this! I’m talking of a sophomore release from German band White Mantis. Prior to the first spin of Arrows At The Sun, judging by the moniker/cover artwork, I was expecting to hear some kind of a doom or black metal. Meanwhile, it turned out to be completely different, so let’s begin with a short introduction to the band.

White Mantis is a thrash metal quartet from Munich, Germany, and Arrows At The Sun is band’s second full-length 10-tracker album.

Tracklist:

1. Nekrotornado

2. Arrows At The Sun

3. Pass The Torch

4. Divide And Kill

5. Atavistic Power

6. Over Your Pale Bones

7. Toxic Sniper

8. Roboticator

9. Reality Exists

10. Altar Of Technology

Arrows At The Sun arrives six years after their 2019 debut album, Sacrifice Your Future. The band’s second opus continues the path laid forward since the very formation of the band and its current line-up. In other words; White Mantis still play fast & aggressive thrash metal based on a traditional thrash foundation, but this time they experiment with some additional weird and chaotic progressive influences. Lyrically, the album deals with sociopolitical issues, ‘technocriticism and scepticism towards progress, but also spirituality and death as a mystery of life’.

Arrows At The Sun displays a diverse and sophisticated songwriting style, while celebrating their old-school thrash influences in the likes of Voïvod, Overkill, Coroner, early Megadeth, and similar thrash titans. Meanwhile, White Mantis is more than just another retro thrash metal, as they are very much themselves, best exemplified with songs such as the title track “Arrows At The Sun” or “Reality Exists”, both encapsulating their own and rather unique brand of thrash metal – one with some crushing melodies, frantic rhythms, chainsaw riffs, unhinged & howling vocals, and multiple tempo changes, all without sacrificing their flair for catchiness. Apart from the two aforementioned tracks, mid-record, “Divide and Kill” and “Atavistic Power” are another highlights to be heard on Arrows At The Sun. “Altar of Technology” is the last song – a fitting closer to an excellent, coherent and nicely composed album.

The overall musicianship on Arrows At The Sun is tight, and the album includes enough technical flair and guitar solos to satisfy thrash fans. At the same time the increased feature of dynamic and progressive shifts showcases increased sophistication and technicality compared to the band’s previous work Sacrifice Your Future.

Give Arrows At The Sun a spin or two, esp. if you are looking for some thrash metal that doesn’t sound like all the other retro thrash releases of the past decade. For additional information on this pretty solid sophomore album from White Mantis visit their bandcamp or simply listen to the entire album at the link below.