Ah - that fourth level of pain! Forty-five minutes and 5 twelve ton compositions later - Manatees manage to do some proper damage on this release for Carlilse's motivesounds. With looming bass lines that could fuel a cover of "Bone Machine" any night [see: "i"] and gripping vocal moans reminiscent of something Undergroove would finance in half a heartbeat, these Manatee fellas have cranked up the intensity and cranked out a debut worth feeling fuzzy about.

But wait - it's not all railroad stakes and barbed wire on this "untitled" release. Check into the second track [ "ii" ] and you'll find a calm sea of guitar strums, swelling bass lines and merely an echo of vocals... until the two minute mark strikes. At this moment - vibrant drums are set free [still in a restrained manner] and a league of ferocious vocals [that bring to mind 3 Stages of Pain] surface the once stagnant black waters. The message:

"we are [all] / forgotten"

One begins to think this band of lads might just know what the fuck they're doing over there [both band and label].. . and one would be absolutely correct in this assumption. I have heard the facts - and I am voting "yes".