Czech based post-rock/metal project Postcards From Arkham have released an HP Lovecraft inspired album titled Manta on MetalGate Records. The album starts off with a track that could best be described as post-metal/blackgaze. Passages of airy clean guitars and piano are exchanged off and on for blistering blastbeat laden black metal. It’s an interesting rollercoaster ride that sets a tone that carries through the first couple tracks of the album. The rollercoaster however doesn’t stop there. The entire album drops out of the metal realm and passes through a phase of progressive rock before settling into a decidedly tribal ambient/new-age sound. It’s not until the final track that we find our way back to the metal infused starting point, which caps off the entire thing like an explosion of fireworks in an independence day grande finale.
Pair the first two tracks with the last as an EP, and I think Deafheaven fans would eat it up. But it’s not as straightforward as that. This is a complicated experimental album that will likely confuse some, at least initially. But the overall take away is an exquisite journey that may require a few listens and an open mind. Manta is an album that is as odd and otherworldly as the HP Lovecraft stories that inspired it. Very much recommended.