Manifest

Impaled Nazarene at this point is less of a band and more a factory that pumps out an album every couple years. It's not exactly the best way to create high art, but I don't really begrudge a band for doing something like that- it's not as though they're occupying space that some artistic genius would otherwise take the place of. There's a certain role bands like this fill, and while I do miss Impaled Nazarene's older, more relevant work, they're at the very least not making BAD music. 'Manifest' is one such factory-stamped album by them, though I'll say it's kind of weak given the consistency of the style they've established for themselves- released just a year after 'Pro Patria Finlandia', it probably could have used some more time in the oven.

The biggest problem with this record is a simple matter of bloat- an Impaled Nazarene album really doesn't have to reach 40 minutes, much less 50, and with 'Manifest' clocking at around the latter, it gets pretty tedious. While none of the music is overtly BAD, it does tend to get old over the course of the sixteen tracks on this CD. It's not as though Impaled Nazarene are experimenting with their formula: it's still the same combination of melodic black/thrash riffing and more aggressive, grinding tempos, but it seems that this time they invested a little more into the rawer, more brutal side of their music than the melodic one. I've always felt that after Impaled Nazarene discovered their melodic style, they should probably have just stuck with that and mostly abandoned the more extreme side- they're just not as good at it. Unfortunately, the middle third or so of 'Manifest' is a slog through a lot of mostly atonal black/thrash that just doesn't hold up compared to the more melodic songs.

The music doesn't need much description- Impaled Nazarene just does what they always do. Riffs that range from meloblack half inspired by Gothenburg to more thrashy, oldschool ones, an aggressive, driving, punk-infused drum performance, and the always infuriated screaming of Mika Luttinen all make their requisite appearance, and not really in a manner that's rejiggered from their earlier style. The best tracks, unsurprisingly, resemble stuff off 'All That You Fear' (probably their best more melodic album) such as 'You Don't Rock Hard', which perfectly merges the band's predilection for punk and melody in a very satisfying (and brief) track. There's no particular missteps on this record, but no triumphs either. Impaled Nazarene's done this album before, but usually better.

Again, I can't in any way say this is a bad release- it's pretty satisfying, particularly if you're already a fan of the established style of the band. Still, the formula's getting kind of repetitive these days, and I think it's coming to the point where Impaled Nazarene really need to decide on either a more melodic or more brutal direction, because splitting them up throughout albums is getting tedious. If you dig the band, there's no reason not to give this a try, but if you want to pare the band's discography down to more essential releases, this wouldn't make the cut.

Impaled Nazarene has returned yet again to deliver another greasy middle finger to naysayers and posers with their newest release, Manifest. After suffering many recent disappointments in the metal realm, including the extremely weak We Are the Nightmare by the young Arsis, I had held out failing hope for the veterans of Impaled Nazarene to deliver to yet another quality album. How could a band with such a long and storied career still come up with new and extreme material? However, Manifest surprised me and knocked me flat on my ass with a tight and energetic performance and excellent songwriting.

Instrumentally, Manifest is strong, perhaps stronger than the last few albums issued by I.N. The guitars deliver buzz-saw tones and crushing riffs. The strongest point of the album is the memorability of the riffs, which adds to enjoyability greatly. The songs Planet Nazarene and You Don't Rock Hard are the best examples of this, with the latter having a great attitude. The tempo of the songs is generally kept at breakneck speeds, with some medium-speed entries such as Funeral for Despicable Pigs. Another highlight is the drumming, which is solid and very clear. Unlike many bands nowadays, the drums of Manifest hold a firm and headbang-able beat, instead of trying to chop the songs to pieces with unwanted “technicality” every 3 seconds. Bass guitar is generally hard to hear most of the time, but that is pretty common nowadays, especially in this genre.

Vocally, Mika delivers a very energetic performance. His range is showcased on this album, with many lower growls in addition to his normal high-pitched screeches. Lyrically, the album is as good as always, with many (although mostly subtle) Satanic references and anti-sheep screeds. I.N.'s humor is present and accounted for; the lyrics for You Don't Rock Hard will bring a grin to your face as Mika ridicules German censors with gusto. Suicide Song is surprisingly emotional and funny at the same time, with the melodic guitars contrasted by Mika calling for emo pussies to “Be a man for once” and kill themselves. “Goodbye cruel world, smilies and razor blades!” Emos/scenesters/whatevers can begin tying their nooses NOW. Mushroom Truth is another highlight on the lyrical front, and will bring some laughs to users of mind-altering substances.

Overall Impaled Nazarene has demonstrated that they are still capable of delivering extreme metal. This album is a must-have for fans of the band, and should at least be tried by black-metal fans. This album is a gut-punch to wimpy bands and sell-outs, and proves that the team from Finland still has all the elements that make them number one.

I'll begin with a simple statement of fact: Manifest is, by far, the best release of 2007 so far, and it's quite unlikely that it will be topped by the end of the year. For ages and ages, once-great bands have slowly (or rapidly, in some cases) gone from legend status to pure shit, as they change their sound with each release in order to become more and more accessible. After the fall of Darkthrone, Carpathian Forest, Satyricon, and even two seemingly-invincible gods of heavy metal, King Diamond and Manowar, I was almost dreading the release of Manifest as much as I was looking forward to it. In a year when every other band seems able to do nothing but fail, Impaled Nazarene has triumphed once more, and amazingly so.

Manifest is Impaled Nazarene's strongest release to date, and given the quality of their previous albums, that's quite an accomplishment. It's like they mixed every good element of previous albums into one and got rid of any negative aspects - there's some grindcore, a la Tol Kormpt Norz Norz Norz, a good bit of their traditional black metal sound (see Nihil for a good example), Ugra-Karma-esque cyberpunk elements (thankfully minimal and yet still adding to the music), and the blackened thrash sound with crystal clear production quality that's become their style since Absence of War. In short, there's something for everyone here, and anyone with an appreciation for "extreme" metal should enjoy this considerably.

The CD as a whole is absolutely bursting with some of the most inspired, ballsy, and surprisingly catchy riffs I've heard in ages. Hopefully, the criminally underrated shredding of Jarno Anttila will finally be appreciated, because the show he puts on with this release is truly remarkable. The new, accomplished doom metal guitarist Tomi UG Ullgren makes an incredible debut as well, more than pulling his weight and playing some quite memorable solos, most notably near the end of "You Don't Rock Hard".

As usual, aside from the toe-tapping guitarwork, the highlight of this IN release is Mika Luttinen's unique vocal style and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics and song titles. Surprisingly, there's almost a complete absence of the band's comically Satanic lyrics, and the pseudo-nationalist themes are nowhere to be found as well. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. In exchange, we're given lyrical themes that I can't quite classify for some reason, but they're interesting and entertaining nonetheless. And there are some truly, should-be-legendary choruses, as well. The song "Original Pig Rig", before the album's release, seemed to be a sign of inevitable failure as a whole for Manifest, but to the surprise of many, it turns out to be the best song on the CD, epitomizing the Impaled Nazarene sound on every level - humorous-yet-hateful lyrics, ridiculous choruses that just shouldn't work but end up doing so in a big way, lightning-fast guitars and blastbeats all over the place, and just a general sense of awesomeness.

As most bands age, the vocalists typically get worse and worse, and the band itself sinks deeper and deeper into shittiness until they put out something like "Gods of War" or "Give Me Your Soul...Please" - Impaled Nazarene, on the other hand, just keeps getting better and better with each and every album they put out. Mika Luttinen's vocal range is growing as he gets older, and also getting somehow more powerful as well. As with the instrumentals, Manifest is without a doubt his best work to date.

This CD is highly recommended to anyone with even a semblance of good taste.