UNDER EIN BLODRAUD MAANE

"Under Ein Blodraud Maane" is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal act Manes. The two-piece act consisting of Cernunus (All Instruments) and Sargatanas (Vocals) had released the three demos: "Maanens Natt (1993)", "Ned I Stillheten (1994)" and "Til Kongens Grav de Døde Vandrer (1995)" before finally releasing Under Ein Blodraud Maane in 1999 through Hammerheart Records. All six tracks on the album were in their original form featured on the demos.

The style of music on the album is dark and atmospheric black metal. Not the old school lo-fi recorded kind and not the symphonic kind either. It´s aggressive yet majestic and epic. There are keyboards in the music but the music is not soaked in them. I´ll compare the use of keyboards on "Under Ein Blodraud Maane" with the use of keyboards on the early releases by Enslaved. The keyboards are there to create an atmosphere not to dominate or lead the music. The musicianship is really strong and taking into consideration that everything except the vocals are done by one man the performance is certainly worth a mention. This is not overtly complex music but it´s very well played.

The production is raw and aggressive sounding. This is the kind of black metal production that I can appreciate. Not too purposely lo-fi and not too polished either.

"Under Ein Blodraud Maane" is a very enjoyable release to my ears. Intriguing songwriting, a powerful sound production and strong musicianship are all elements that make the album a quality product. Soon after it´s release vocalist Sargatanas would leave though and Cernunus would resurrect Manes as a very different band a few years later, so if you´re interested to hear what Manes sounded like when they still played black metal this is the album to purchase. "Under Ein Blodraud Maane" deserves a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating in my book.