Based on the legend of Icarus, “Sunclimber” is the follow up to the well-received “The Forever Ending Jitter Quest of Slow Hand Chuckle Walker: An Introduction to the Manatee”, and it is a slow, heavy and distorted voyage. It lacks not only variation, but contrasts and an identity. What the Manatees are doing isn’t really different from the rest of the sludge metal bands. This whole “hey, let’s play a heavy riff and repeat it over and over again for 10 minutes” has been done a thousand times before. The vocals, buried and distant, sound like most bands of the genre. But the whole “package” isn’t bad. Far from it. It’s just completely forgettable.
Originality is an important factor, when listening to an album. It is not essential, but it is important…
The Neurosis influence is more than obvious, but again, sometimes originality is not the problem; Year of No Light’s “Nord” is the perfect example of that. The first three tracks, “ Of Wax and Wing”;”The Sunclimber” and “Hyperion Altitude” are weaker and more forgettable than the other three; “Untitled”, “False Sun” , “Out of the sky, into the gutter” are better and more consistent. These last three songs are not revolutionary by any means, but they sound a lot better compared to the first half of the album; maybe it is because of the acoustic guitars, the spacey vocals or the tribal drumming, that add a nice element to the music . I am confident that this trio has a lot more to give, let’s just hope that their next release sounds closer to the second half of the album than the first.
As I said before, “Icarus, the Sunclimber” is a heavy, ugly and slow. Just like a manatee.
5.5/10
O "Avoid the Light" foi um dos dois albuns que me foram pedidos para avaliar pelo Silent Ballet , como teste para ver se eu servia ou não para fazer parte dos escritores do site. O outro album foi o "Icarus, the sunclimber" de Manatees. Mas eu não sirvo para o site, por isso, já que não vão ser usadas para o SB, não vejo inconveniente em postar ambas aqui.I have to say that I wasn’t surprised by “Satellite Bay”, Long Distance Calling’s debut. It is a decent album, sure, but it isn’t the masterpiece that lots of people seem to think it is. Now, with “Avoid the light”, the hype is fully justified: it has that special something that separates a good album from a great one. While not revolutionary, “Avoid the light” is, without any doubts, a great album.
The songwriting is strong and varied, managing to avoid most of the “modern post-rock traps” (like the whole tremolo picking riffs, for example). That, and the ability to write 12 minute songs that flow like 5 minute ones, makes these 55 minutes truly a joy to listen.
The production is very good, making the sound “huge” and stronger than most instrumental rock bands.
The bass-guitar plays a big role in the sound of this German quintet; it is always present, often combining with the drummer’s double-bass. Talking about that occasional double-bass, it isn’t the only metal influence present on “Avoid the Light”, with Jonas Renkse from the Swedish metal band Katatonia collaborating on “The Nearing Grave”, one of the highlights of the album. The programming/keys, while not original by any means, add an interesting industrial/spacey element, especially on the second track “Black Paper Planes”, something that they should explore more often on their next release.
The fourth track, “I know you, Stanley Milgram!” ( google it, it’s worth it… ), a 10 minute epic, marks a turning point within the album, towards a darker, more introspective sound.
As a conclusion – it is always good to be surprised, especially in a genre when surprises don’t occur often. “Avoid the Light” is probably one of the best instrumental rock albums I’ve had the pleasure to listen since last year’s “Embers” (by upcdowncleftcrightcabc+start) - and I’ve listened to quite a lot of them.
8.5/10
Ultimamente o Batman tem estado muito na moda, fruto do sucesso dos dois filmes de Christopher Nolan. Mas não nos podemos esquecer que há 20 anos, Tim Burton também fez uma adaptação da BD, e fê-lo de uma forma primorosa, renascendo um dos super-heróis mais conhecidos da actualidade.
As interpretações estão excepcionais, mas em parte devem-se ao extraordinário argumento. O filme está recheado de diálogos memoráveis, nomeadamente do Joker. Nada parece estar a mais, nem a menos, está mesmo na dimensão certa. Também adorei o facto de o filme ter um feeling muito tipo banda desenhada, onde toda a cidade de Gotham está recriada na perfeição. Aqui o mérito vai todo para Tim Burton que, como já é hábito, fez um fantástico trabalho. O filme tem um ambiente bem mais negro que a série cómica dos anos 60, o que foi muito bem recebido pelos fãs da BD, e eu pessoalmente também aprecio. 
Por último, gostava só de dizer que Danny Elfman é um dos melhores compositores da actualidade e o tema principal de Batman prova-o. Se ignorarmos algumas das músicas de Prince, a banda sonora é magnífica.