The dark cloud of reality TV has continually been covering everything in our wonderful pop culture, including the world of heavy music through last winter's The Battle for Ozzfest on MTV. With the show's stint over, the metal acts that received their brief fame on the small screen had to return to the real world (horrible choice of words, I know) of up-and-coming musical acts. For third-place-finishers-turned-Century Media-metalcore-group Manntis, that world became one full of touring and proving themselves. The SoCal breakdown extraordinaire will come by Fat Tuesday's on Monday to show off the tunes that pleased the Dark Prince of syndicated reality TV himself, Ozzy Ozbourne.
After receiving the bronze from Ozzy and MTV, Manntis found themselves signing with Century Media, the same label that is home to metal giants such as Shadows Fall, Strapping Young Lad and Children of Bodom. With the new label, the group met with producer Cameron Webb (Motorhead, Danzig) and churned out the group's first full-length, Sleep in Your Grave. The result is an 11-track assault on the ears that fans of metal's new breed have come to expect.
The group's diverse influences range from old-school metal like Pantera, Swedish giants Meshuggah and new-school core moshers Zao. What comes through in the end is a metalcore offensive comparable to giants Killswitch Engage. The emotion and intensity of Manntis is enough to please even the scene's harshest elitists.
After gaining notoriety from a reality hit on MTV, artistic integrity may be a hard thing to come by, especially for a metal group. However, through the release of Sleep in Your Grave and constant touring with the likes of Otep and Ozzfest, Manntis is out to prove that they are just as real and as dedicated as any band out there. They can shred and mosh with the best groups in the genre.
With bands such as Killswitch and Unearth bringing metalcore to the masses, Manntis is attempting to ride the wave that has been formed by the new breed of stars, all the while trying to introduce a new thing or two to a genre that has been established time and time again.
Mantis, Takeover, Utterance, Severus play Fat Tuesday's Concert Hall on Monday, July 18 at 7 pm. Tickets: $10. All Ages. Call 325-SEAT.
