Review by Kevin de Haas

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Beeing in a punk band at the start of it all, the record I'm going to talk about really takes me back to the fun times when I was 16 years old but it also reminds me why I left the punk/crust/hardcore scene in the first place. MANU ARMATA is a band from Harlingen, Friesland. The've been paving the road since 2010 and ten years later they now bring us
Invictus.

A Hardcore drenches record with a thick crust of Crust(if that makes any sence). To start things of I have to make clear that I am not a fan of this genre. So if I might come across a bit negative at times, it's because of my opinion only. So please don't misjudge them and check it out for yourself. Because this might be right up your alley!

 

Invictus is a punch in the face to say the least. It's an uptempo rollercoaster that doesn't let you out till the ride is over. Production wise it's definitely near perfect. The sound is thick but is stil able to maintain that katana like sharpness. The instruments are really well balanced and the vocals don't overdo it as well. Scream or clean, it sounds top-notch. And although I am not a fan of the group shouts in any kind of genre, I got to admit that it sounds pretty great in the mix of it all.

The intro track Initium does a great job letting you settle in and fasten your seatbelts for the ride to come. The first real track Remain Radical is energetic and pure in your face Hardcore. Sadly the same can be said for the rest of the ten track to come. To me this is a downpoint and a flaw that is commonly present in this genre. Somehow bands operating within this genre just don't seem to be able to think outside of the familiar formula. This is not always the case but unfortunately Invictus is one of those cases.

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After two full listens I came to the conclusion that when you would listen the first two tracks, you've heard everything there is to hear. Which is a shame because you can hear the effort put into it and the production sounds so damn awesome. And for that matter I praise them!

Manu Armata is a fast paced hardcore/punk/crust metal giant. And although I'm not a fan of the type of music, I do get the hype! If you are into this type of music and bands such as Hatebreed and Goregäng give you al the right tingles, you are definitely in for a treat. The production sound alone wins me over. But in the future I would love for them to break the shackles, think outside of the box and ignore the restraints of their genre of choice.

Overall a solid release by Manu Armata.
Score:
6/10