Making no noise on the web, the Swedes of 'Manticore', after 'Next Steps: Flight 19' which saw the rebirth of the group in 2019 and which made me discover this formation, released a new album 'Elements'. 6 original tracks, it's the menu of this album which begins with the instrumental 'The Wood' which immediately puts us in the bath of a rock mixing progressive and symphonic and which brings us back to the 70s, certain passages reminiscent of the style of 'Steve Hackett' with multiple digressions around the central theme embellished by remarkable guitar and keyboard solos. The suite is sung with, first of all, the beautiful ballad 'Open up your Eyes' which remains anchored in the seventies, and which could be a mixture of 'Electric Light Orchestra' for the melody and 'Barclay James Harvest' for the pastoral side, then, 'New Horizon' continues in this bucolic atmosphere with this time a small soft side of 'Led Zeppelin' and which benefits from very beautiful provided choirs. Another beautiful ballad, 'Rain Is Falling' unrolls on a slow tempo a beautiful melody on which we abandon ourselves completely, then, the short 'Nordic Shadows' is a symphonic instrumental in the form of a crescendo with a very beautiful solo of slide guitar that brings a melancholic side. The masterpiece of the album which constitutes the eponymous title of the album arrives at the end of the album with its 10 minutes and takes us on a remarkable progressive saga which makes us wander to the rhythm of harmonious melodic lines with choirs à la ' Crosby, Still, Nash & Young'.
In summary, the Swedes of 'Manticore' remain anchored in the 70s by offering us a very beautiful album filled with catchy melodies to listen calmly to the headphones on the ears to decompress after a hard day's work, which should appeal to a whole public in love with calm and refined progressive bringing us back to the 70s... | |
