Mantic Ritual Executioner
by Matthew Hoffman
Staff Writer
Upon listening to the first few songs your initial take is Mantic Ritual is a “Pre-Sellout” Metallica cover band. After hearing the entire record the opinion doesn’t really change much. Excellently played Kill em’ All sounding music rife with super aggressive speedy riffing and hyper circa 1983 soloing is what you get on this record. The problems though are huge and twofold. First the music is void of any originality and is frankly too similar to Metallica’s early stuff (think “Trapped Under Ice”) and second the vocals from Dan Wetmore sound like an 11 year old that snuck into a local Karaoke lounge.
There are plenty of emerging bands like Black Tide, Cellador, and Hackneyed that are filled with young energetic members harkening back to the wonderful early Bay Area thrash and NWOBHM movements of the early ‘80s. The problem for Mantic Ritual is that not only do the aforementioned bands do it better they are all significantly more original as well.
The music does however show the bands tremendous talents as guitars of Wetmore and Potts blaze from the first note to the last including tons and tons of energetic soloing. The wildly entertaining drums of Adam Haritan are also well played throughout Executioner.
So the band has lots of potential but when you sign with a major label much more is expected of you than potential.
Sometimes honesty sucks, however here it is a necessary component for growth.
The album has cool lyrics, awesome song titles, excellent production and great artwork, but none of this can help it escape the horrid immature vocals and lack of originality.
With dozens of killer bands in their stable Nuclear Blast is used to being successful, but this is unfortunately a candidate for the worst album of 2009.
This album is obviously not recommended for purchase.
Label: Nuclear Blast
Band Members:
Dan Wetmore – Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Potts – Guitar
Ben Mottsman – Bass
Adam Haritan – Drums
Track Listing
1. One by One
2. Executioner
3. Black Tar Sin
4. Death and Destruction
5. Murdered to Death
6. Souls
7. Panic
8. Double the Blood
9. Thrashatonement
10. By the Cemetery
11. Next Attack
HRH Rating: 4.3/.10