I like to think that writing a review is like writing a story, or better yet, is like writing a chronicle with all the nuances of life it does let we all know. I think of chronicles because they allow the writer to add many daily issues into the writing. They are more open, if I may. One of the most desired and chosen subjects is life and death. That’s because one moment or the other death will always find any of us and life, well life, it’s always with us as if trying to remind of its presence. I cannot help it but saying “When Skies are Grey” is itself a big old chronicle the way I see it as it portriats those two big moments of everyone’s life .
Manos Six and the Muddy Devil with their EP “When Skies are Grey” bring back the themes with their unique way of making music blending Metal iconography with the deep South sonancy. So, my dear fan will find lots of banjos, but not that that typical banjo from bluegrass or others, banjos played as if they were Metal guitars – I guess by now you all have realized here at Metal Addicts we never stand for the typical. That sounds great, isn’t it? “When Skies are Grey” showcases a melancholy and a dark mood that only Black Metal has ever disclosed to humanity. Manos Six and the Muddy Devil did their best to fulfill this mood of turning their Southern and Americana music into Metal.
“When Skies are Grey” commences with “Sound of the Dead” which follows pretty much a Southern music tradition, however the banjos sound a little out of it. Soon, the fan will realize this album is nothing but strange. If memory serves me right, “When Skies are Grey“ is based on “You Are My Sunshine,” which is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. Yeah, I had to take a look at the modern oracle Google to help me with it. Manos Six and the Muddy Devil turned it on some very dark shoegazed Black Metal drenched track. Its dark mood outstands the music. “I’m not gonna turn my back on the Devil” reminds me of Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” not musically, but thematically. Musically apart, but same mood, same atmosphere. Finally, but not least, there is “The Last Turn (Chain Pleasure)“ as a part of a dark terror movie played deep down in the Deep South. Insane.
Honesty obliges me to say that for an EP, “When Skies are Grey” is larger than life with its weird mix of Metal music with the darkest Americana ever. Its only four tracks are a trip to the unknown dark swamps of life and their stories and tales.
Manos Six and the Muddy Devil “When Skies are Grey” was released on June 6th via FYC Records.
Track Listing:
1.Sound of the Dead
2.When Skies are Grey
3.I’m not gonna turn my back on the Devil
4.The Last Turn (Chain Pleasure)
Watch “When Skies are Grey” official lyric video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!