Singled Out: Mantric's The Towering Mountain'

Mantric just released their new album "False Negative" and to celebrate we asked Tor to tell us about the song "The Towering Mountain." Here is the story:

The lyrics for 'The Towering Mountain' were inspired by a story I once heard of how one might visualize dying when knowing you are about to die. We all die at some point and try to find our place in the universe accordingly, but when you know the time more or less, you have to find peace in a different way.

I have the tendency to push the idea of death and decay ahead and dwell on more ordinary life questions, like 'Where will I be able to spend my summer holiday now that the Corona virus is turning everything upside down?' I guess that's just a human way of handling things. Anyway, there is a concept that seems to go deep in people, that dying is like crossing a river, very much like the river Styx in Greek mythology. And so I tried to place myself inside that concept, and the lyric turned out dreamlike, mythological and full of imagery.

This song is one of the more intense songs on the album I would say. We had the intention to create an intense song without getting too complex with the riffing. Mainly aggro vocals all the way. It's kind of a two-part song with the first one being hardcore-punkish with straightforward rock verses. Then comes a '70s acoustic guitar break, before the second part of the songs kicks in. The second part is heavier, with lots of details in the guitar harmonies. If I'm remembering it right, I was trying to create a '80s hard rock riff that wouldn't sound too retro. I think it turned out great in the end. The bass line has some clearly Ozzy influences and the bridge part towards the end has some Type O Negative vibes with how the harmony vocals lay on top of the bassline. This song has lots of musical references to music I grew up listening to.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here

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