Manu Armata

No Victory Without Strife EP

Written by: AP on 12/10/2010 21:59:41

While some bands have managed to break out of the recluse Benelux hardcore scene - often with help from their established, transatlantic peers - most of them remain in oblivion. Do Or Die and The Setup for instance, command huge followings in Belgium and are regularly allocated prime time big stage slots at festivals in their native land, but hands up how many of you know of them? The point is that it is not the quality of music holding these bands back, but our natural propensity to dismiss the trio of tiny countries as insignificant. With a little research, however, the area exposes a veritable mecca for the genre, with countless bands crafting equally good, if not better music than some of their internationally recognised colleagues.

Manu Armata, whose debut offering "No Victory Without Strife" is subject to review here, hail from the Dutch contingent of this movement. Their music is best described as metallic hardcore in the vein of First Blood, Hoods and Terror. It is in fact almost indistinguishable from those bands, and as such, it offers few surprises. Surprises are, of course, not the name of the game in puritanical circles, as daring maneuvers like experimenting with melody or clean vocals are usually followed by swift expulsion from the genre and branding with the notorious metalcore tag - and in that respect one could argue that Manu Armata deserve some credit for their restraint. They have at the very least done what they could with a limited set of tools and created an album that, while the polar opposite of innovative, has enough burning intensity in its galloping rhythm and crushing powerchords to facilitate sixteen minutes of hefty headbanging and circle pits.

That's about it though. The songs offer no relent on this formula. "No Victory Without Strife" is a ballsy, standard fare chugfest, and I would advise fans of the more forward thinking stuff the hardcore genre has to offer to leave this one on the shelf and pick up an old Madball record instead - they should be in close proximity in neat, alphabetically ordered boutiques, and offer a far more invigorating listen.

6

Download: Forced in Defense, Infirmity of Purpose
For the fans of: First Blood, Hoods, Terror
Listen: Myspace

Release date ??.??.2010
Self-released

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