The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara – Origins
The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara – Origins
Self-Released
Release Date: 01/11/24
Running Time: 32:14
Review by Dark Juan
All the numbers there have ever been and some that haven’t been invented yet/10
Full disclosure: this review has been written over the course of a month, because when I listened to this record for the first time, I was that physically and mentally exhausted from work I did not give it the attention it deserved, because I had nothing emotionally left to give and The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara have always been a band that you have to give your full attention to, otherwise you are going to not appreciate their unique wonder and their special, indescribable (which is a problem, because it is supposedly my job here at Ever-Metal.com to, you know, fucking describe things) magic. My love for TCOMAS is well-known and enduring (https://www.ever-metal.com/2021/02/10/the-chronicles-of-manimal-and-samara-full-spectrum/ and https://www.ever-metal.com/2022/07/01/the-chronicles-of-manimal-and-samara-trust-no-leaders/ if you want to see a couple of classic examples of utterly disgraceful fangirling) and their one-of-a-kind, esoteric Experimental Metal shows no signs of slowing down.
TCOMAS’s great strength is their near-constant re-invention of their sound, their oeuvre and their influences, as well as the chimeric performances of Daphne Ang, who has variously been ice-cold and precise in the delivery of her spoken word poetry on debut album “Full Spectrum”, or dripping caustic venom and cracking with absolute hateful fury on “Trust No Leaders”, she once more beguiles and shocks the listener with a warm and intimate delivery on “Origins”, especially on lead single ‘Mysterium Tremendum’ (an absolute monster of a track that’s takes Death Metal and Progressive music to places it has never been before by adding a shedload of taffeta and black lace to it and even adding in a neck-destroying breakdown that contrasts wildly with some of the softer music on the album), where Andrea Papi also shines with both gruff and clean vocals. TCOMAS refuse to conform (as usual) to the norms of music, not even the ones that they have created themselves and it is this constant and never-ending desire to not stagnate which drives this duo (partner and collaborator Andrea Papi taking care of the instruments and the gruff vocals) that make them so utterly fucking compelling. Dark Juan feels that these two (to be fair, they are utterly lovely people as well) auteurs can do no wrong and this feeling is only reinforced with “Origins”, even though it is nothing like the previous two albums.
The opening song is entitled ‘Feed the Beast’ and begins with Daphne Ang cleanly reciting lyrics in a poetic fashion before a staccato, misfiring guitar riff stabs the listener right between the eyes and Ang’s voice changes from cut-glass, clean yet dangerous enunciation to heartfelt, almost heartbroken singing on the chorus – Papi also takes his turn behind the mic with a clean vocal as the music changes forms and warps through Metal and Trance and Prog and Psychedelia. The arrangements are almost Classical – there are definite movements in this song, each with a form and function of its own as your emotions and your cognition are dragged in the wake of the music as it changes and morphs into endless different forms. The beauty of some of the music is deliberately undermined by the visceral quality of the lyrics, dispassionately enunciated by Ang. An example:
“…The air was crisp,
Even water was still.
The Beast fell to its knees,
Crumbling into a mangled heap.
Its last breath spent,
This dance of death complete.
Little did the boys know,
The Beast had them all fooled,
“Cut my throat and spill my blood,
But I will never be killed”.”
It is this troubadour-like, story-telling quality that is just a small part of the peculiar magic of TCOMAS. They create legends from nothing but air, and this is why they are so incredible to Dark Juan. It’s like the band inhabits my thoughts. This is only the first song. Holy fuck…
The second song is ‘Bite The Bullet’ featuring the vocals of Mr. Meuri, being an Italian rapper and takes us on a musical odyssey starting with Hip-Hop elements before Andrea Papi dials up the guitars and the hatred, growling with venom and fury, and ends with Daphne Ang and Mr. Meuri rapping together – the music runs the gamut from fairly classic West Coast Hip-Hop, laid back beats to screaming insanity, but these are tempered by soft Electronica and a dreamy, laid back vibe which is utterly alien to the seasoned TCOMAS listener, who is normally firmly braced for some intelligent aggression. ‘Waves’ begins with Ang singing, rather than using her usual received pronunciation. She combines both RP poetry and singing to heartbreaking effect as the music wafts and wefts beneath her slightly broken vocal. This, however, is not the whole of the song. Papi crashes into the sweetness with a colossal riff, huge yet simple, that slams into the backbrain as the drums slowly accelerate. It then just stops dead and returns to the soft, maudlin sounds of the beginning of the song. And then it changes again, to an almost Calypso sound. And then back to Metal, and Papi tearing his throat out with aggression. To Dark Juan’s imagination the whole song mimics that singular sadness when you lose someone – you go from sorrow, to rage, to a bizarre and febrile happiness, back to sorrow and anger and you have no idea what your poor, tortured feelings are going to do to you next. ‘Waves’ is like that. Undulating feelings rocking the ship of your soul…
There’s a lot more singing from Ang on this record, which is a surprise in itself, as her normally clear and precise diction is the focal point of the music of TCOMAS. This isn’t to say that she has abandoned her peculiar style, and there is much of it on “Origins” – especially on the likes of ‘Per Astra’, where she combines singing and speech to an unusual and powerful degree, offering light and shade in equal measure. This is where the music shows that strange alchemy that TCOMAS employ as well – Gothic, Poppy Electronica underpins the vocals (which are sung in a very unusual register, adding to the uneasy, unbalanced quality of the song) and the whole experience is a kind of off-balance, staggering to maintain equilibrium affair that renders the poor fucker listening and trying to describe it somewhat lost for words.
To sum this album up, then, its another triumph from the London-based duo – while it lacks the immediacy of previous releases, this is an album that rewards repeated listens to an astonishing degree. The music is dense, and initially appears simplistic in places, but this is a deliberate act and there are levels upon levels of joys initially unnoticed that become evident when you take the record at more than face value. Dark Juan is of the opinion that “Origins” is the closest look yet into the psyches of Daphne Ang and Andrea Papi. Truly they have grown into something massively greater than the sum of their parts. It is musical synergy, an unfettered explosion of unique and diverse talents melding seamlessly together.
Even if quite a large part of the Metal fanbase aren’t going to get it. The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara require a certain amount of intelligence and being recondite in order to grasp the metaphorical nettle of their music. Being hyper-critical, I should say that there is a gentler side of TCOMAS on display on this record that may not be to the taste of the ardent Metal fan, but Dark Juan does not care one fucking jot because Ang and Papi have released yet another diamond of an album that says just as much as their first two, in a softer but no less threatening way.
There’s nothing more scary than quiet rage backed by sorrow.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards TCOMAS every number there will ever be and some undiscovered ones/10.
I need say no more beyond the fact that Dark Juan still maintains that TCOMAS are the most important and vibrant UK-based band there is.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Feed The Beast
02. Bite The Bullet (featuring Mr. Meuri)
03. Waves
04. Per Astra
05. Mysterium Tremendum
06. It Goes
LINE-UP:
Daphne Ang – Vocals
Andrea Papi – Instruments, vocals
LINKS:
