Year: 2021
Total Time: 42.03
Label: Agonia Records
First of all, I would like to warn you that this is an album that has nothing to do with metal, not even with rock! So if you are into this kind of music, it would be better not to read this review. Here we have the Greeks HAIL SPIRIT NOIR and their new album “Mannequins” which is released by the Polish Agonia Records. This album marks the tenth-anniversary release since the founding of the band.
A band that started with Black Metal and reached as far as Prog Rock. I was never a fan of them, however with this album they won me over! Their musical influences here are pretty clear. The music in “Mannequins” is a tribute to the soundtracks of the horror and science fiction movies of the 80’s, having a sound closer to bands such as CARPENTER BROOD, PERTUBATOR, DANCE WITH THE DEAD. This sound travels you in this golden decade bringing to mind films by Fulci (especially ZOMBI 3), Romero, Carpenter and so many others. Everything they play is really well played full of imagination and with an excellent production by Dimitris Douvras. Their titles are awesome as if they belong to horror and science fiction movies as I mentioned. The disadvantages that I find are the presence of vocals in only 2 tracks “Mannequin” and “Enter Disco Inferno” -which is one of the best on the album- as well as I believe that the vocals are still very poppy and commercial. If they had vocals and especially harsh on all the tracks, I believe that this album would made history as it would be also included in the EBM / Industrial genre. Definitely the 2 best tracks on the album – even the ones with the vocals – are “The Monsters Came from the Sky’’ (incredible title)! and ‘’On the Loose Again’’. Finally, “Against Your Will My Blade” stands out as well.
They themselves stated that the style of the band will not remain like this on the next album, they just did it because they always wanted to do something like that and that they even used synthesizers and techniques of that time. If you want my personal opinion I would like their sound to remain that way but with more and harsher vocals as I said. Beyond that anyone who likes this sound and has no problem with the absence of guitars, the album is highly recommended. It is released apart from cd and in many different vinyl versions.
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: HAIL SPIRIT NOIR – Facebook Page
