Album Review: The Chase By Manafest
By Paul Gibson | April 1st, 2010 | Posted In Album Review
BEC
{March 29, 2010}
Manafest has more talent as a hip-hop artist than most would think. Let’s face it, he doesn’t fit the normal hip-hop mold. He’s never been shot, he doesn’t do drugs, rhyme about strip clubs, or carry a gun. But despite all of that, and being a white, skateboarding Canadian (also not the norm in commercial hip-hop), he deserves every bit of street cred as 50 or Em. But with his new album, The Chase, a rock album, one has to wonder if it will fit, Lil Wayne’s attempt at a rock album wasn’t exactly met with an abundance of praise.
But never fear, The Chase, is quite possibly the best Manafest album yet.
Of course The Chase isn’t Manafest’s first time to combine guitars with his flows, all of his albums released since signing with BEC have had at least one song easily classified as a rock track. But this album fills your stereo with loud guitars and tantalizing flows from track 1 to 11.
To start, all the songs are good, a boost that not many albums can make.
It starts off with “No Plan B,” one of the heaviest tracks on the album. Sporting some of Manafest’s best rhyming, from any album, and impressive screams from Koie from the Band Cross Faith, it is one of my favorite tracks by far.
“Bring The Ruckus” is another track begging to be played at full volume with booming guitars and huge bass it is a car thumper with major attitude. Some may also notice a very minor similarity to Rage Against The Machine, but not nearly enough to be distracting.
Not all of the album feels heavy or in-your-face though, “Fire In The Kitchen”, and “Married In Vegas” channel more of a fun pop-punk guitar vibe and are most definitely party worthy.
The only song on the album that is a near miss is “Every Time You Run”, while still a good song, almost feels too much like Where’d You Go by Fort Minor.
All 11 tracks will fit right in on any playlist that sports hip-hop or rock, and will bring much needed variety the music world could use right now.
I hope we hear more of this from Manafest, but I trust he isn’t hanging up his hat on hip-hop any time soon, and I’m good with that too.
~Paul Gibson
Favorite Tracks:
No Plan B
The Chase
Bring The Ruckus
Married In Vegas
Supernatural
