#31 - Top of 2020

 Manticora - To Live To Kill to Live (ViciSolum Productions) 

We are kicking off the best albums of 2020 with the newest offering from the exquisite Danish prog/power outfit Manticora. Released back in August, this is a follow-up to 2018's "To Kill To Live To Kill". The album is the culmination of the best period of the band, with an abundance of creativity both on a conceptual and an executional level. The album kicks off with the epic Blind-Guardianesque  "Katana - The Moths and the Dragonflies / Katana - Mud". The oriental interlude that follows paves the way for "The Farmer's Tale pt3", which closes out a trilogy of songs from the previous record, adding a more proggy sound bridging into "Slaughter in the Desert Room" which features a much more darker sound, in addition to the vocal contributions of June Dark (Clandestine).  There is a lot to uncover throughout the album with multiple musical styles intermingling with a very fresh-sounding production. Among our personal favourites are the Katana trilogy of songs which rank among the best power/prog songs all decade long and particularly the head-banging finale "Beheaded". Truly a memorable album among one of the oft-overlooked bands of the European power metal circuit!

93/100

Below is the lyric video for "Katana - Death of the Meaning of Life".