Not knowing what to expect from MNRVA’s Black Sky I was greeted with a shrill guitar intro and growling bass on ‘Not The One’. Personally I think they could have tried or experimented with lower tuning and/or different distortion pedals, but that’s just me. As the song progresses, before we even get to the vocals, I’m noticing the transitions between riffs is pretty rough. The vocals completely shit the bed for me. The whole song is honestly pretty corny to me. Not in the good, hilarious sort of way, but in that cringe sort of way.
Upon reaching the second song, ‘No Solution’, I’m noticing how truly godawful the recording is. Who mixed this?! I’m being assaulted by the high hat. Again, pretty much the same level of corn with the lead singer repeating the song title. All in all the guy’s voice isn’t bad, just the lack of substance in the lyrics – not that I’m always looking for substance though.
MNRVA wrap up Black Sky with the title track, and I’m actually digging what I’m hearing. There are no crummy solos, no over-zealous high hat use, and this is the best mixed song on the whole thing. Not amazing, but not too shabby, it’s a much more chill song than the previous two, and I’m into the riff. If the singer didn’t have a somewhat distinct voice, I would think this were a different band. About a third of the way through the song, though, it all goes to shit, with poorly executed vocal effects and cornballness.
Review By: BuiltToSuffer
MNRVA
Black Sky
Independent
1 / 6