Mandy Manala – Mandy Manala

Mandy Manala
Mandy Manala
Label: Octopus Rising
Out: May 23^rd, 2025
Playing time: 47:27

Mandy Manala is a five-piece female-fronted Metal band from Vaasa, Finland. Founded by musicians who have been active in the local scene for more than two decades. Their sound is a dark but catchy mix of Rock music characterised by powerful vocals.

While rooted in stoner rock, Mandy Manala draws from an impressively wide range of influences, including Ghost, Abba, Fleetwood Mac, The Hellacopters, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Bathory and Darkthrone.

This is the basis for the hard and powerful sound, which is also melodic and memorable. The band’s debut album was recorded in April 2024 at Wolfthrone Studios in Forsby, Finland, and released in May of this year via Octopus Rising.

Sound effects introduce ‘Stillborn’. But after about half a minute, you are almost overwhelmed by the guitar riffs. The drums boom powerfully and the bass pumps deep tones into the sound. Christa Nedergård’s vocals are powerful and slightly snotty. She has to stand out against the ‘noise’ of her bandmates. The interplay between the two guitarists is impressive, especially during the twin guitar solo. The guitars also rock out on ‘From Whence You Came.’ The tempo is slightly increased. The guitarists and singer are driven by the drums. ‘The Machine’ stomps ahead with loud and rhythmic guitars. A slight blues notes creeps into Christa’s singing. ‘Black Sheep’ starts with quiet singing followed by ohohoh vocalises and a powerful bass line. Christa occasionally has a male singing partner here, presumably Kenneth Norrlin, who is listed as a backing vocalist in the press release. Later, the bass can also be heard clearly again. In a solo together with the guitars. At the beginning of ‘May Queen,’ Christa sings a cappella. The vocal melody is then taken over by the guitar. Once again, the bass melody is often in the foreground. A very melodic and rhythmic song. It goes without saying that there is also a strong guitar solo to be heard here. As the song progresses, the tempo gradually increases, building up to high speed. Before it becomes calmer again towards the end, almost ballad-like. Once again, the vocals are without instrumental accompaniment, only a background chorus can be heard. In ‘The Dark Passenger’, the drums and guitars pound from the start. After a short bass intro, the drums drive ‘War Drums’ forward. However, they are not as dominant as one might expect from the song title. Once again, the guitarists thrill with their solo performances. But the bass also pushes its way to the forefront in places. At the beginning of ‘The Lighthouse’, you can hear seagulls crying. But then the guitars and bass set the rhythm again. With a running time of nine and a quarter minute, the closing track ‘When We Rode Out To War’ is the longest song on the album. And also, the most varied. After an anthemic introduction, you first hear rhythmic drums, which, together with guitar riffs, accompany Christa Nedergård’s calm vocals. Later, the calm mid-tempo section is abandoned. The vocals and guitar melodies are catchy. A powerful guitar outro ends the song and the album. At the very end, they even sound very strange, reminiscent of sirens wailing.

Mandy Manala have released an impressive debut album. When listening to it, you realise that, as mentioned at the beginning, these are experienced musicians who are masters of their instruments. Their songwriting is also impressive. Of course, singer Christa Nedergård’s remarkable voice is the icing on the cake. The influences mentioned in the press release can be heard on the album, sometimes more and sometimes less pronounced. It’s simply a pleasure to listen to.

Mandy Manala – From Whence You Came: https://youtu.be/mJi-5M8fjv4?si=bPL_4G1E-sNWP3mw

Lineup:

Christa Nedergård – Vocals
Jonas Snickars – Drums
Joel Vienonen – Guitar
David Granfors – Guitar
Kenneth Norrlin – Bass

Track list:

• Stillborn
• From Whence You Came
• The Machine
• Black Sheep
• May Queen
• The Dark Passenger
• War Drums
• The Lighthouse
• When We Rode Out To War