Release Date: April 17th 2026. Record Label: Vinyltroll Records and Virkelighedsfjern. Formats: DD/Vinyl
MANALI - Tracklisting
1.In This Body - 11:48
2.Sinful - 07:47
3.Mary - 15:37
Members
Mikkel Hansen - Guitar
Sammy Jagdev - Bass
Pætter Wollesen - Synth/Vox
Tommy Skouboe - Drums
Review
Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Manali self-titled debut album is one that fully met my initial expectations and instantly became part of daily musical ritual over the last month or so ever since I received a copy to review. The album is one that stands on its own creative merits with Manali actually doing something new and highly original with their own great style of Spaced Out Doom merged with instances of Psych, Sludge and Stoner Metal.
With a sound inspired by the likes of UFOMAMMUT, Belzebong, Monolord and Slomatics, this album has quite a dark approach in how Manali explores their cosmic themes and trippy surroundings. The level of great detail applied to the areas of Drone, Ambient and Cosmic sounds have a rich identity of their own. The music can be quite warped with Manali taking their time bringing a standard sense of melody and musical composition to the album.
The vocals from Pætter Wollesen only appear when they’re fully needed with Manali focusing upon the instrumental movements for most of this album. The world-weary synths and distorted melodies start to form at the very beginning with a violent psychedelic LOW & SLOW approach being Manali’s main weapon of choice to impress listeners with.
If you’re a fan of the classic UFOMAMMUT album EVE then Manali takes a similar approach with the band developing haunting apocalyptic sludgy excursions into droned out heaviness especially within the thrilling opening track In This Body. The whole record has a highly unapologetic and raw aesthetic that allows the music to be uncomfortably and organically real as possible with Manali pulling no punches in how they deliver their music. This allows the listener to be fully transported into Manali’s dark COSMIC world where’s a few unexpected hidden violent instrumental passages along the way.
The other tracks Sinful and Mary allow Manali to develop heavier, violent and more cosmic inducing grooves that slowly take over your whole being, especially within Sinful. As they have less time to interact with the listener here and play a more direct style of Psychedelic Sludge/Stoner Metal. The Ambient Metal soundscapes remind of MONOLORD and SLOMATICS along the way but it’s the “less is more” approach with the vocals, progressive sounds and space rock passages that allows Sinful perhaps be my favourite track on the whole album.
Though the final track Mary contains the heaviest and aggressive sounds of the album though it doesn’t start that way. As Manali opens with a Post-Stoner and Post-Doom melody that soon transforms into something really poetic and beautifully real. Manali keeps exploring and expanding this musical into other areas of Space Rock and Psychedelic landscapes. However, the band always allow themselves the perfect opportunity to add different levels of distorted measurement to the album which left me in quite a musical trance and blissful state of mind. The mood is quite violent and unpredictable at the best of times but there’s a brooding style of psychedelic energy that really impressed a great deal.
Manali’s debut album really is a masterclass of modern day Spaced Out Heaviness that spoke huge volumes to me on a personal and emotional level. It’s hard to explain but when albums like this make an emotional connection to me then it’s these types of albums that I know I’ll be listening to over and over again in the years to come.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Audible PR for the promo.
Manali self-titled debut album is available to buy now on Digital Formats and Vinyl via Vinyltroll Records and Virkelighedsfjern.
Links
https://linktr.ee/manaliband
https://www.facebook.com/Manalidoom/
https://www.instagram.com/manali.band/
https://manali-band.bandcamp.com/
