Manigance - D'un autre sang 4/5
Reviewed: 2-3-06
Tracklist:
1. Mirage
2. Empire virtuel
3. Maurir en hero
4. Heritier
5. Hors la loi
6. Maunit
7. Memoire
8. Damoclas
9. La mort dans l'ame
10. D'un autre sang
11. Enfin delivre
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Seems this band has slipped by me the first 8 years of their existence, and it's too bad, as there are probably many others who have missed out as well. Manigance is a French band and 'D'un autre sang' contains French lyrics, a language that fits metal extremely well, especially when sung with a clear voice containing nice range, and vocalist Didier Delsaux certainly fits this description. As mentioned, it was about 8 years ago the band was formed. They first released an EP 'Signe de vie', which was later re-released with additional tracks and is now considered a full-length CD. They then released an excellent CD 'Ange ou demon', and 'D'un autre sang' is their 3rd CD.
Describing Manigance's style can be both easy and difficult at the same time. They play power metal with progressive elements and a few neo-classical parts are also present. I'll simply call them progressive power metal, but who do they sound like? This is the difficult part, as they really have their own sound. But I know band comparisons can be the most useful tool in investigating bands, so I'll do my best to throw some out. I hear some musical similarities to Elegy, but 'D'un autre sang' is a very exciting CD, so I'd take the Elegy comparison and combine it with what can be heard from recent Lanfear. Really, Magnigance is right in between these 2 very different bands.
Being someone that takes baby steps towards bands with the "progressive" label, I want to emphasize that this is a fast and very exciting CD that will appeal much more to power metal fans than those who are fans of pure progressive metal. There aren't really any highlights here, as the entire CD is upbeat, catchy, and is consistently excellent. The one exception to the excitement would be track 9 "La mort dans l'ame" which, though good, is not as special as "Nomade" from the band's previous CD 'Ange ou demon'. Not a big deal however, as the CD finishes strong with the following 2 songs.
As great as this CD is though, I think their previous CD 'Ange ou demon' is even better, with its level of catchiness being a tad higher. But both are truly awesome and production wise, the band isn't lacking in any way, which adds even more to the excitement of their CDs. It's too bad that in-depth investigations or a lucky glance at a forum topic has to be the only way to discover bands like this, as Manigance is definitely one of the top bands to come out of France and one that I highly recommend to progressive power metal fans.
CLINT
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