ANDROMEDA — Manifest Tyranny (review)

ANDROMEDA — Manifest Tyranny album cover Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
J-Man
Sweden is known for its massive progressive metal scene, and one of the bigger names in this scene is Andromeda. In spite of this, Manifest Tyranny (their fifth full-length album) is my first acquaintance with their music, so I can't (yet) compare this with their earlier efforts. What we have here is a fairly unique brand of melodic progressive metal that, while still borrowing heavily from bands like Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, and Evergrey, sounds pretty original. Manifest Tyranny is an impressive modern prog metal release, and while I can't say it's a shining success from every angle, there are enough positive traits to outweigh any detriments.

Musically, I'd say that Manifest Tyranny is best described as melodic progressive metal, but with a more raw and heavy edge. While still quite complex, there are lots of crushing guitar riffs throughout the album, and the raw production further exemplifies the heavy edge that Andromeda favors on this release. While far from revolutionary, Manifest Tyranny does not sound like any other band; Andromeda has their own sound, and deserves to be applauded for this. The lyrics dealing with political stigma, corruption in government, and war are also pretty interesting, and I love the way the band is able to incorporate this relevant message into their songs using voiceovers and sound samples. My biggest gripe with Manifest Tyranny is that there aren't a whole lot of great tracks, and even though the whole album is good, it seldom reaches a level of excellence. I'd say "Asylum" and "Go Back to Sleep" are both great tracks, but the rest of Manifest Tyranny seldom exceeds the 'average' mark. A few more impressive compositions would've really done the album wonders - after all, the musicians playing the songs are extremely precise throughout the full 64 minute duration.

Even though I wish Manifest Tyranny were a bit shorter and had a few more great songs, this is still a fairly easy recommendation for modern prog metal enthusiasts. If you're in search of original and lyrically relevant progressive metal with top-notch musicianship and classy melodies, you're bound to be impressed by what Andromeda offers on this observation. 3.5 stars are deserved, and I can safely say that I'll be checking out more albums from these Swedish lads in the future.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah, the musicianship across the board on this album is pretty impressive. This isn't the best prog metal album out there, but it's definitely worth hearing if you're a fan of the genre. :-) I need to check out Andromeda's earlier stuff!
Diogenes wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Their guitarist is freakishly talented, but they seem to have flown under the radar for some reason. I gotta look into this.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed