A Norwegian melodic metal duo born in 2011, Mantric Momentum released their debut album in 2022, and return at the start of this year with “Alienized”. Vocalist Terje Harøy, frontman of Pyramaze, is joined by his cousin Christer Harøy, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.
“Alienized” is a well-balanced blend of heavy melody and power metal, offering technical boldness and catchy melodic sensibility. The vocals are particularly meticulous and emotionally charged. The musical structures are complex, yet accessible. There's also a pleasing subtlety in this maelstrom of epic and grandiloquent moments. The peculiarity of this excellently produced release is that it proves highly enjoyable throughout its first half, but runs out of steam considerably in its entire second half.
Indeed, notwithstanding the instrumental intro orchestrated by guitarist Magnus Karlsson (The Ferrymen, Primal Fear...), the initial five tracks leave a lasting impression on the listener. Pyramaze comes to mind. For the next five tracks, it's undeniable that the melodic ingenuity drops off a notch and a certain impression of interchangeability of scores comes unpleasantly to mind. The compositions sound pleasant to the ear, but leave little trace in the memory, despite Christer Harøy's irreproachable technical prowess.
This marked split is detrimental to “Alienized”, as it leaves the listener with a sense of disappointment that grips him or her from the halfway point, as if the band had said almost everything by the middle of the album. This is particularly regrettable in view of the band's obvious savoir-faire, perfectly in evidence on the first half-hour of the opus.