Review by Vinny for Mantar - Post Apocalyptic Depression (2025)

You know what you are getting with any Mantar record. Sludge-punk rammed right down your throat. Completely devoid of bass as well as fucks to give, Mantar remind of how rock ‘n roll must have originally been perceived back in the day. Their sound has a maverick attitude, a mocking undertone that rumbles through their records where the bass would normally sit. Good news then that Post Apocalyptic Depression absolutely sticks to that formula. With song titles like ‘Church of Suck’ and ‘Rex Perverso’ (roughly translated means ‘King of Perverts’), you will soon the level of cheer this duo is looking to spread this time around.

It is a surprisingly cohesive sounding record given it was written on two different continents. This "quick and dirty" (as the band call it) style pays dividends as the pair bash and smash their way through all manner of influences ranging from the Melvins through to punk. The seedy undertone that gets set early in the record never truly wears off and there is a sense of the listener getting grimier by the track. The drums and guitar make their presence known in equal quantity and don’t ever outshine one another. The vitriol heavy vocals, wheeze and sleaze their way over the music in an almost serpentine-like manner.

If you are looking for variety then you are probably in the wrong shop. Mantar know what they want to say and how they want to say it, and that doesn't incorporate much other than the clear influences I have described on their sound. Unapologetic in their approach and unrelenting in their delivery, Mantar very much like the sound of their voice and as a result this is a near forty-minutes of consistently offensive music. No ballads, no progression or avant-garde elements present here folks.