Released on: 11th February 2022
And we have a grower! After five years of toil Heavy Meta have released their debut album titled Mana Regmata. Tentatively described as art by the bands own press release; It cuts a fine line between technical marvel and indulgent wankery. Shifting more often to the former, but can, and does dabble in the latter. With tech death flair coupled with clear gothic influences– you do have a peculiar creature.
Mana Regmata stumbles on its first few tracks. Although adroit its strong footing fails to find coherent ground to place its strange avant-garde spirit. Yet, that slight fall creates a formative bowl for the rest of the album to climb out from, and from close to the halfway mark the songs become much more grandiose.
Post introduction gone are the riffs for the sake of noise and something more fluent articulates its way. Soldiering through the amalgam of genres that the band cites as influences. To mention a few: Sikth, Mr. Bungle and Rush. While offering a greater depth than what running along a fret board can achieve alone.
The DIY ethos that the band brings up is admirable and the album is worthy of a professional seal of approval. However, the initial Hodge-podge of ideas leaves a lot to be desired. Thankfully the band reign it back in and take control of their muses to master this strange beast.
7/10
