BLACK MANTRA
Wolfgang
(Sony)
RATING: three and a half
Wolfgang are rock stars. Old-fashioned, true blue, moody-mysterious-sexy, iconic rock stars. Go to any gig, and see how their fans stick around after a show to harvest autographs; walk around the malls with them, and count how many awestruck kids gawp, and how many others pretend that they don’t want to stare. Sure, Martin Nievera or Regine Velasquez may be used to that kind of attention, but they’re pop celebrities. You have to respect Wolfgang for being able to elicit the same kind of attention as rock musicians working in a pop-fixated industry.
You also have to respect Wolfgang for studying the classics rigorously and paying homage to their musical forebears when, clearly, current trends have deemed the genre unprofitable. That takes balls—or, at the very least, a firm sense of identity.
Nothing shows this more than Black Mantra, the latest album from Wolfgang. The 11 new songs on the album are all purebred rock, without the merest whisper of either rap or electronica coming to sully its bloodline. It may be hybrid theorists like Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit who rule the rock charts all over the world, but Wolfgang refuse to be trendy, standing by their chosen genre like steadfast soldiers.
Black Mantra is far from Wolfgang’s darkest work, despite what the pre-release buzz said about the album. But it does show the band with a new energy and a revitalized sense of purpose that shows very clearly in the music. It’s the same energy that made the band such a standout in their early days, and the same energy that seems to have fizzled out somewhere along the way.
The album kicks off with the “Judas Noose,” a manifesto that echoes the band’s newfound political passions (and only the first of its kind on the album). The lyrics are strongly worded, addressing a “traitor, betrayer,” and jeering at his inevitable downfall: “Swing left and right/ Come take your place on the Judas noose/ We guarantee that everything will fit you just fine.” It’s a strong opener, full of noise and fury that shows especially on Manuel Legarda’s guitars.
Betrayal seems to be a running theme in the album, whether it be emotional and personal (“Bow Unto Thee,” “Shoulders of Cain,” “Bleed One Way”), or in a larger arena—betrayed by crooked politicians (“Judas Noose,” “Undertow,” “Revolution Now”), fake prophets (“Heaven Spent,” “Trenta”), drugs (“Meckam”), or by life in general (“No Falter”). Only one track is different—the serene “Idlip,” a grand but restrained song about death.
No one will disagree that the band has steadily improved over the years. The band members have gotten better at their respective instruments, and while this is not dramatically demonstrated in Black Mantra, it has been an evenly paced process over the years. At the very least, it shows that they’re damn serious about this whole band thing, and are prepared to see it through. Better yet, their songwriting has also improved, and the clear-headedness of this effort is testament to that.
There is still room for improvement here and there. Basti Artadi, whose development as a vocalist is probably the most dramatic improvement of all, now needs to find a truer connection to the songs. Often his singing (in the studio, at least) doesn’t deliver the emotional core that the songs need. It’s a different story during their better live performances, so clearly he is capable. He just needs to learn how to do that in the studio, too. (Listeners will therefore be thankful for the Live Bootleg bonus disc, the “official bootleg” of nine covers from various gigs. I was a little turned off by the concept’s blatant imitation of Pearl Jam, but I withdraw my objections after hearing the recording.)
I’d like to think that it’s sincerity that makes all the difference in Black Mantra—they were deeply affected by this year’s EDSA 2 rallies, and each of the band members were active in one way or the other during that time. Or maybe it’s just that they’re flying high from the success of their Acoustica concert and their first-ever US tour. Or maybe they’re just growing older, and growing gracefully into their roles as the Philippines' foremost rock stars.—Kristine Fonacier
(Sony)
RATING: three and a half
Wolfgang are rock stars. Old-fashioned, true blue, moody-mysterious-sexy, iconic rock stars. Go to any gig, and see how their fans stick around after a show to harvest autographs; walk around the malls with them, and count how many awestruck kids gawp, and how many others pretend that they don’t want to stare. Sure, Martin Nievera or Regine Velasquez may be used to that kind of attention, but they’re pop celebrities. You have to respect Wolfgang for being able to elicit the same kind of attention as rock musicians working in a pop-fixated industry.
You also have to respect Wolfgang for studying the classics rigorously and paying homage to their musical forebears when, clearly, current trends have deemed the genre unprofitable. That takes balls—or, at the very least, a firm sense of identity.
Nothing shows this more than Black Mantra, the latest album from Wolfgang. The 11 new songs on the album are all purebred rock, without the merest whisper of either rap or electronica coming to sully its bloodline. It may be hybrid theorists like Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit who rule the rock charts all over the world, but Wolfgang refuse to be trendy, standing by their chosen genre like steadfast soldiers.
Black Mantra is far from Wolfgang’s darkest work, despite what the pre-release buzz said about the album. But it does show the band with a new energy and a revitalized sense of purpose that shows very clearly in the music. It’s the same energy that made the band such a standout in their early days, and the same energy that seems to have fizzled out somewhere along the way.
The album kicks off with the “Judas Noose,” a manifesto that echoes the band’s newfound political passions (and only the first of its kind on the album). The lyrics are strongly worded, addressing a “traitor, betrayer,” and jeering at his inevitable downfall: “Swing left and right/ Come take your place on the Judas noose/ We guarantee that everything will fit you just fine.” It’s a strong opener, full of noise and fury that shows especially on Manuel Legarda’s guitars.
Betrayal seems to be a running theme in the album, whether it be emotional and personal (“Bow Unto Thee,” “Shoulders of Cain,” “Bleed One Way”), or in a larger arena—betrayed by crooked politicians (“Judas Noose,” “Undertow,” “Revolution Now”), fake prophets (“Heaven Spent,” “Trenta”), drugs (“Meckam”), or by life in general (“No Falter”). Only one track is different—the serene “Idlip,” a grand but restrained song about death.
No one will disagree that the band has steadily improved over the years. The band members have gotten better at their respective instruments, and while this is not dramatically demonstrated in Black Mantra, it has been an evenly paced process over the years. At the very least, it shows that they’re damn serious about this whole band thing, and are prepared to see it through. Better yet, their songwriting has also improved, and the clear-headedness of this effort is testament to that.
There is still room for improvement here and there. Basti Artadi, whose development as a vocalist is probably the most dramatic improvement of all, now needs to find a truer connection to the songs. Often his singing (in the studio, at least) doesn’t deliver the emotional core that the songs need. It’s a different story during their better live performances, so clearly he is capable. He just needs to learn how to do that in the studio, too. (Listeners will therefore be thankful for the Live Bootleg bonus disc, the “official bootleg” of nine covers from various gigs. I was a little turned off by the concept’s blatant imitation of Pearl Jam, but I withdraw my objections after hearing the recording.)
I’d like to think that it’s sincerity that makes all the difference in Black Mantra—they were deeply affected by this year’s EDSA 2 rallies, and each of the band members were active in one way or the other during that time. Or maybe it’s just that they’re flying high from the success of their Acoustica concert and their first-ever US tour. Or maybe they’re just growing older, and growing gracefully into their roles as the Philippines' foremost rock stars.—Kristine Fonacier
posted by Kristine F. | Saturday, December 01, 2001
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home