The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara – Nothing But Dust (Single)
The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara – Nothing But Dust (Single)
Self-Released
Release Date: 11.02.22
Running Time: 03:37
Review by Dark Juan
10/10
It is well known that I, Dark Juan, am a leader, not a follower. I chart a course of my own (apart from when following orders from my managers at work) and refuse to have myself painted into corners of musical genre, or to be told I am not Metal because my taste encompasses more than just the sonic fury of Heavy Metal. I am that Metal I rust every time I get in the shower. To deny yourself enjoyment of music as a whole because of peer pressure, or doing what you think is right is to deny yourself sheer joy. To be musically promiscuous is the path to musical enlightenment. My personal taste runs the full gamut of 60’s Psychedelia (Satanic or otherwise), 50’s Rock and Roll, the Blues and everything in between up to and including the most modern and progressive of Metal, EBM, Aggrotech, Industrial, Synthwave and anything else that catches my fancy. Sacred Reich said it best in their tremendously well meaning, but ultimately charmingly hamfisted funk song ‘31 Flavors’:
“There’s so much music for you to choose,
So don’t just be a metal dude, it’s cool, fool”.
Granted this was underpinned with a truly appalling sampled horn break, but the message is clear and it is one that Dark Juan wholeheartedly supports and when you have an act like the British-based, but actually Singaporean and Italian by birth, The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara, this message becomes abundantly clear.
This pair of musical enfants terribles joyfully take the most Progressive of Metal, overlay it with thought-provoking poetry (on ‘Nothing But Dust’ this poetry is inspired by the Persian mystic Rumi, from around the 13th Century) and proceed to gloriously genre-bend their art into something truly unique. The Persian element bleeds into the music, giving it a Middle Eastern or Arabian, if you will, feel, and Daphne Ang’s vocal is more hard edged than usual, betraying a sadness and underlying rage over her usual fluid delivery. The guitar work of Andrea Papi is nothing less than savage and wide-eyed yet complex sonic warfare, apart from the simple, clean riff that underpins the gentle middle eight, before the mighty power of the heavily distorted riff comes crashing back into your consciousness at the conclusion of the song and blasts your eyeballs clean out of the back of your head. It’s all rather jolly and splendid, really.
The lyrics, in their usual thought provoking fashion when it comes to TCOMAS, reference the aforementioned Rumi in sound and semantics, but then take a rather Jungian turn as they discuss finding solace in “The desert of one’s soul” in a world that is becoming daily more acquisitive and material, where money and possessions are paramount, and the artistry inherent in everyone is repressed for the sake of the means of production, and profit, being maintained. This is indeed something I have witnessed increasing in my lifetime, as has anyone else who is of an, ahem, certain age. Wow. Writing reviews while sober is interesting. I have actual coherent thoughts.
Frankly, this is another triumph of a single from TCOMAS. I absolutely adore their unique combination of intelligence and brawn. They are proof of just how transcendent metal can be when other influences are artfully applied and music is allowed to mutate into new and interesting forms.
Yes, it’s fair to say I am a bit of a fan of The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara. It also seems, because I consistently give them high marks, that I am a disgraceful and toadying lackey to this fascinating musical duo. This is irrelevant. They simply are that good, and their music speaks to my twisted black heart as much as to my even more twisted psyche. Their politics dovetail with what passes for political thought in my head (to be fair this is normally composed of blood soaked fantasies of putting Boris Johnson through a bacon slicer VERY SLOWLY and making Jacob Rees-Mogg work on a factory floor for several years on minimum wage and seeing him carry on pontificating. I have ENTIRELY different thoughts about his sister, Annunziata) and their music and lyrics never fail to educate and entertain. If you have an open mind, then TCOMAS will expand it further. That I can promise you.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards yet another 10/10 to TCOMAS. And it’s not because it’s sucking up to them either. Dark Juan, or The Blood Splat Rating System either, submit to no-one, ever.
Unless they say “Please” first.
LINE-UP:
Daphne Ang (Samara) – Vocals, Lyrics, Piano
Andrea Papi (Manimal) – Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
LINKS:
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