Musically, the new album pushes for more catchiness and refinement without sacrificing the quality of the music. The album’s opener “Piach i niepamięć” focuses on creating a cinematic intro with clean guitars and trombone builds up moments of aggression in the later track. The composition is dynamic and offers plenty of melodies, and the vibrant bass plays the leading role in creating a complex sound. The guitar arrangements in the track “Suma wszystkich strat” enrich the atmosphere, with the string sections and female vocals accompanied by the drums pumping out the ferocity that carry plenty of black metal riffs.

Mānbryne brings out the best of the band, and there are moments when the grim vocals and the rhythm guitars make full use of adding layers to the song. Although the sophomore is very reminiscent of its predecessor, Mānbryne commands its sound for the dramatic melodies. There are some keyboard touches that offer a cold feel to the sordid tremolo, but make no mistake the sophomore takes its influence from the band Mgła and everything from the swift tremolo pickings are present in abundance. The beauty is that the album has developed a melodic sound that always incorporates many acoustic guitar elements. And there is no lack of momentum in the songs thanks to the solid drumming work that makes the music sound coherent like a whole piece.

The guitar riffs are particularly melodic, but this doesn’t mean that Mānbryne is afraid to reinvent themselves, likewise, the vocals are profoundly effective. “Po trupach ku niebu” showcases some excellent drumming execution, and that being said, there is a whole new approach for instilling the artistic style of the band uniquely. The touch of melody is exquisite and makes each song stand out. The riffing isn’t any special, but they are inspired by the modern black metal as they are given enough space to create textures, therefore enhancing the bleak beauty of the composition.

While the album remains memorable, the guitars weave melodic riffs with tremolos, sounding emotive and bleak. The blackened influences of the band also remain undimmed by the guitars and the riffing and the solid drumming seems to bounce off the walls of sound in a perpetual and vivid manner. Mānbryne style remains unchanged in the sophomore release and takes many influences from the modern trademarks of Polish black metal bands like Blaze of Perdition. “Grzechy ojców” is easily one of the highlights of the album, and despite the misanthropic black metal elements, the songwriting is solid.

Though the sophomore maintains the memorability, albeit staying in one direction, the blast beats are emphasized in all the six tracks. The strength of the Polish quartet remains in their songwriting and this is because the riffing work is diverse with the melodies having a very distinct flavor. Mānbryne is able to bring out the abrasive side of the music by delivering swift and razor-sharp tremolos centered on constant catchy melodic formulas. However, “Interregnum: O Próbie Wiary I Jarzmie Zwątpienia” isn’t a revolutionary album, but the structured songwriting keeps the song dynamic and aggressively paced with a technical level of musicianship.

“Bezkrólewie” which serves as a short interlude, offers a beautiful combination of acoustic guitar, keyboards with the trilling of the cymbals creating a background for the archaic tone of the keyboards and the guitars surging to make a dramatic and melodic intro for the final track “Pierwszy kamień”.  The guitars offer endless lines of tremolos that flow through the fast-paced drumming reflecting the cold misanthropic feel through the blackened rhythm and shifting from the straightforward drumming and emphasizing on the melodic hooks. The skills of the vocals provide some of the most sorrowful and melancholy with overtones of dark dissonant riffing.

The furious tempo of the drums carrying the song delivers a full throttle of blasting fury and the subtle drum fills, accompanied by the soaring female vocals and the tight focused riffing, remain the main context of the band’s musical fruition. The ability to shift to immense scale with the drumming adding depth and bearing the sheer force of the frenzied pace midway through the song shows how the Polish quartet has evolved over the span of two years.

Links