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You've got to hand it to Impaled Nazarene, these guys are not wimping out. "Manifest" is just as destructive as its predecessor, albeit less thrashy (there's still some of that) and a little less catchy, and flirting more with Death Metal this time around. "Black Metal" alone isn't enough to describe this, but that's the basic genre on display here. This is a little more varied than "Pro Patria Finlandia", which tended to get a little repetitive. Here we get some full-speed ahead Black Metal that would get the kvlt kiddies running to hide under their moms' skirt, but also some more atmospheric slow to mid-paced moments that trade speed for heaviness and a sombre and raw, somewhat suspense/dark/horror-like atmosphere. Throw in some Death/Thrash moments that remind me a little of Deathrace King-era The Crown - I swear sometimes the guitars and vocals almost sound like they could have been on that album. Mika's vocals are just as venomous and raspy as before, with that little distinctive "throaty" style being a constant here - and mostly decipherable as an added bonus. Some of the guitar solos are out of this world, out-pacing the speediest material on the album, essentially tearing you a new one and they're over before you realize they've even started. It's also interesting and almost funny to hear some very melodic guitars in some of the fastest passages, essentially mixing two extremes - and it actually sounds good.

"Manifest" is a pretty impressive piece of Black Metal artillery from those BM veterans (17 years and counting.) These 16 tracks of very busy vicious metal are guaranteed to keep you attentive for several listens, discovering a new unheard musical layer each time, and will leave you with a sizable chiropractor bill for that neck of yours. Already notorious visceral blasphemers BM bad boys, Impaled Nazarene prove here that we ain't seen nothing yet.