Sometimes you just come across a band that has it all. Manhattan Century is a progressive metal rock band, and even if you are not a hardcore fan of progressive music but like metal and rock overall , give the band a chance. This band is probably the world's most unknown progressive metal rock band, if you live outside Austria, for some weird reason. The skills and the performance should really make some labels out there fight about a contract with a band that actually is better than many more known names out there. Let me educate you. MAN is the second EP from this band; the first EP, Ape, did come out back in 2022. A lot of Monty Python humor on that one; the track "Migratory Mind" is still today , going strong. Listen to it. The music video is out there , waiting for you. But let's dive into Man. The first track, "Erect The God Complex" takes you out on a journey. They open up slowly...and Ritchie Krenmair's voice (one of the best metal voices around?). Has a lot of space. Something so familiar with that voice. But this is a prog band , and it gets a bit advanced in the build-up of the song, and the synth you hear is analog and has such a great sound. The song is wicked , so many rhythm changes, and everything flows like one. You simply have to hear this track. Next track is my favorite "Sterile Sun" starts like Phantom Of The Opera, and the next layer is like...some kind of polka stuff..and then a guitar that sounds like it was recorded back in 1963. They are such good musicians. "Sterile Sun" is a track that goes from being heavy , a bit aggressive in a way , and then 60s rock n roll sound again. To get away with something like this , you are either insane or a genius , and the guys are not insane.

"Sterile Sun" is a fun track to listen to and gives you an idea of the skills. The track makes me happy each time. "Dogma Of The Thinking Man" is all instrumental, not to shine , more like an intro to "Prophet Machine: Two Infants" the last track , and maybe the most advanced one. This one , if you like music, is a bit of an enigma; it starts very calm, but the drums speed up and add, like, an extra beat, count time signature. I try it, but I lose it. and Michael Notter , the drummer, is really something special; on this short EP, he has done everything and more. The band is so extremely tight, the bass guitar and the synth controlled by Florian Artner; yes, he plays them with such a surgical precision, so they are under his control. Around 4 minutes into the song, it turns to pure beauty and works like a build-up for the more instrumental part of the song. And I notice again how much work Alexander Artner does with his guitar: going down, playing soft , building up with a hard riff. Actually even make the guitar work as a beat , and he doesn't do those 8-minute guitar solos. They are short, come when you don't expect it , and he really gives an extra dimension to the band. The track continues in a way that you don't expect. But even if this band uses a lot of different rhythms , changing them , going from metal to rock and vice versa, and has more influences than metal and rock. They make it work; the red wire is there. It's a shame that this band doesn't have a major label behind them, because even if progressive metal rock has been around for a long time, there is nothing out there like Manhattan Century , nothing to compare with.