When a release like this hits your mailbox you know that the world is a terrible place to live. You know that the people who pull the strings are not to be trusted to say the least, and that they are beats. Whether god exists, it’s up to you, but when you are faced with “Cursed Eye of the Prophet” you are sure it does not. Or at least you are provoked to think deeply by the title of the record itself.
MANTA BIROSTRIS is not easy to deal with when you approach them for the very first time. And that’s a compliment, because first of all, they do not fit into one category of noise and secondly they do not follow trends. Expect lots of different noise here from a very raw bass driven industrial notes in “Ezekiel”, through congos-based etno music in “Purim”, to finally satisfy your apetite for hardcore punk sound in “Bieslan” with guest vocals from Ex pert, a long going hardcore punk band INKWIZYCJA.
The record eveloves around the historical, cultural and political issues in Middle East part of this power driven world. Hate meets love, religion meets power, tragedy of one is the victory of the other. And when you watch the video of Bieslan you know that MANTA BIROSTRIS are no strangers to Middle East and its difficult conditions. Get yourself accquainted with the tragic deaths of hundreds of innocent school children in 2004 in Ossetia and you will understand what I mean.
I treat this as a concept album, where the band selected various tools for getting their message across and although there are moments I did not understand musically, like some vocal parts, I absolutely admire their piece of art in this place called world. Favourite tracks is “Cursed Eye of the Prophet”, a 6 minute suite where hardcore punk meets black metal drums and etno female vocals. This one is a true masterpiece.