Maninfeast
How One Becomes What One Is

June 2010
Released: 2010, Self Released
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz

Maninfeast is a Portuguese quartet that blends genre lines, but resides somewhere in the realm of progressive/new age metal. Their debut EP HOW ONE BECOMES WHAT ONE IS does a good job of creating a uniquely mellow atmosphere, but does little to actually explore the band’s songwriting or performance abilities. The five tracks on the EP reminded me of some of Voivod’s more spacier moments (a la ANGEL RAT) or even the newer stuff from Cynic, but the songs don’t really go anywhere. The band gets an A+ on getting the vibe right, but vibe only goes so far if you don’t have the chops underneath it.



Opening track “Speaking Void” is a smooth, psychedelic tune that has some kinetic build up towards the end, which eventually feeds into “Ewidge Wiederkunft.” That momentum trails off halfway into the tune and the band settles into a regrettably boring jam. “Keynesian Model” is an unnecessary techo-style instrumental, while “Beyond Blindness” is a more aggressive tune, but gets stuck in the rut of its main riff. “Magic Stones” is the best of the batch here, offering the first insight into what the band’s really capable of. Here, they seem to summon everything they meant to say throughout the other tracks and channeled that energy into the final song.



I really wanted to like HOW ONE BECOMES WHAT ONE IS; the overall mood of the EP really sucks you in and is engaging, but it stalls as soon as it gets started. While not a bad debut by any stretch, it’s just not as interesting as the band may think it is. Maninfeast appear to know what they want to say, but just don’t have the vocabulary yet to know how to say it. The EP is currently streaming on the band’s website where it’s also available for purchase.