IDLE HANDS — Mana (review)

IDLE HANDS — Mana album cover Album · 2019 · Gothic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Mana" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Oregon based heavy/gothic rock/metal act Idle Hands. The album was released through Eisenwald Records in May 2019. Idle Hands formed in 2017 and released the "Don't Waste Your Time" EP in 2018.

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) Idle Hands 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 Idle Hands 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 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 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.
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