UMUR
"Mana" is the debut full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Eisenwald Records in February 2021. But while "Mana" is considered the debut full-length studio album by Unto Others, the album was actually previously released in May 2019 under the Idle Hands monicker. After the band opted to change their name to Unto Others in 2020, they also chose to reissue "Mana" and make it part of Unto Others' discography.
Stylistically the material on "Mana" is a melodic type of heavy rock/metal with nods toward gothic rock. Although the music features a lot of 80s UK pop/rock influences (ranging from catchy pop melodies in the vein of Tears for Fears and the hard rock of The Cult) Unto Others manage to put a fresh take on tried and true musical elements, to create a pretty original and personal sound. It bodes well for the future of Unto Others that they already have a relatively unique sound on their debut album.
The 11 tracks on the 40:09 minutes long album are all around 3-4 minutes long vers/chorus structured songs and in that respect "Mana" is not the most adventurous or structurally varied release. It´s an immediate and extremely catchy album though, and you are able to sing along to any track on the album already during the first listen. Lead vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco (who also handles the bass on the album) has a powerful voice and a commanding delivery (again highly influenced by British 80s pop/rock/goth singers), and the tracks feature great driving beats and basslines, and loads of melodic guitar work (both clean electric and distorted electric chords, leads and harmonies). Sometimes it´s hard edged enough to land in the metal camp (there are even a couple of sections on the album featuring double bass drumming), but just as often it would be more correct labelling the music heavy/gothic rock.
"Mana" features a detailed and clear sounding production, which suits the material perfectly and upon conclusion it´s quite the impressive debut album. This is beyond promising and a highly recommendable release to those enjoy instantly catchy 80s influenced melodic heavy rock/metal with touches of gothic rock. It´s not often you come across debut releases with such an original sound. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.
