Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, the latest full-length from German metal duo MANTAR out now on Metal Blade Records, reached the #2 spot on the Official German Album Charts! The record charted in Switzerland, Austria, and the US as well.

#2 Germany
#45 Switzerland
#60 US (Current Hard Music Albums)
#69 Austria
#84 US (Top New Artists)

Additionally, the band has just unveiled a playthrough for the track “Of Frost And Decay.” Check it out HERE.

Founded in 2012, MANTAR stands among the leading forces in extreme metal within the last ten years. The band’s most diverse and multifaceted album to date, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End sees the band taking things to an entirely new level, the songs boasting more melody and an array of guitar tones, influenced in no small part by the artists the pair covered on 2020’s Grungetown Hooligans II collection which featured MANTAR interpretations of songs from the likes of L7, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and The Jesus Lizard, formative bands from their respective youths Lyrically, the songs delve deep, pondering a variety of uncomfortable questions about mortality, spirituality, and the illusion of “belonging” in a world that’s unraveling and growing more fragmented by the day.

Watch MANTAR‘s previously released videos for “Grim Reaping” HERE, “Odysseus” HERE, and “Hang ‘Em Low (So The Rats Can Get ‘Em)” HERE.

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End is available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Preview and purchase the record at: metalblade.com/mantar

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, the anticipated new full-length from German metal duo MANTAR, is out now on Metal Blade Records.

Earning critical accolades both stateside and abroad, Decibel Magazine hails a, “burning Molotov cocktail of black metal, sludgy hardcore, and classic metal hooks,” adding, “their latest studio album may be their best yet.” Rock Hard writes, “Pain Is Forever… skillfully keeps the balance between brute destructive fury and dense atmosphere in widescreen format with real underground hit potential,” while Metal Injection champions the band’s, “thicker grooves, anthemic refrains, head nodding rhythms and a greater exploitation of the fist-in-the-air-ology school of songwriting.”

In celebration of the release of Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, today MANTAR unleashes a new video for “Grim Reaping.” Offers guitarist/vocalist Hanno Klänhardt of the track, “‘Grim Reaping’ is about the simple insight that you cannot win life. No matter what you do, what you try… death remains the great unifier. And in death we will be genuine and pure.“

View MANTAR‘s previously released video for “Odysseus” HERE and “Hang ‘Em Low (So The Rats Can Get ‘Em)” HERE.

The most diverse and multifaceted MANTAR album to date, with their latest offering, guitarist/vocalist Hanno Klänhardt and drummer Erinc Sakarya take things to an entirely new level. Songs boast more melody and an array of guitar tones, influenced in no small part by the artists the pair covered on 2020’s Grungetown Hooligans II collection which featured MANTAR interpretations of songs from the likes of L7, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and The Jesus Lizard, formative bands from their respective youths. “I tried to tweak the guitar sound more according to each individual song and its respective mood,” notes Hanno on the songwriting approach to Pain Is Forever And This Is The End. “We tried to steer away from ‘metal sound’ standards and more in a direction where you can hear different nuances in sound. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we never were a part of any scene, therefore we don’t ‘owe’ a certain sound to anyone.” Hanno even sings on occasion, “instead of only screaming like a maniac.“

Lyrically, tracks delve deep, pondering a variety of uncomfortable questions about mortality, spirituality, and the illusion of “belonging” in a world that’s unraveling and growing more disjointed by the day. “People desperately cling to anything that promises you or at least makes you believe that you ‘matter’ in some way,” notes Hanno, “that you are the master of the situation and that everything behaves as your own logic allows. We live in an interesting time where people have an unspeakable longing to find easy explanations to complex questions.“

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End is available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Preview and purchase the record at: metalblade.com/mantar

Founded in 2012, MANTAR stands among the leading forces in extreme metal within the last ten years. Loved by fans and press alike, the band took the world by storm with their truly unique sound, leading them to the Top 10 in the official German album charts with their 2018’s The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze and sold out shows throughout Europe.

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End serves as MANTAR‘s most realized output yet. With Hanno prolifically writing riffs at his home in Gainesville, Florida – and throwing away whole albums worth of material – and Erinc working in Germany, the record’s creation proved to be a painstaking effort. “Nothing came together easily for this album and I hated most of the process,” Hanno states plainly. “Even though Covid had not much of an impact on us, the general fucked up mood in the world and the industry had an impact on the record. Everything was very tedious, up to a point where I literally questioned everything and we were damn close to quitting the band. With every song I came up with, there was a period at some point where I thought it sucked. Then I had moments where I thought it’s the best we have ever done. It was bipolar in a way. It was rough and it took a serious toll on me and Erinc that I’m still recovering from.”

After recording their instruments on different continents, Hanno and Erinc entered the studio together in Germany to record vocals and backing vocals, respectively, and decided to take a different, more daring route in terms of production: “With the previous albums, I was so focused on making the band sound exactly as we would sound live. That is cool and still important but this time I wanted to make an album that is overall entertaining and not just a forty-five-minute ‘live set.’ We’ve proved countless times that we have no problems at all convincing in a live setting, so I had to gather some courage to ‘produce’ a little more, mostly in order to entertain myself as the songwriter and producer. Still, there were times where I literally wanted to destroy all my music and myself while making this record and I destroyed a lot of equipment. Maybe it was all worth something,” Hanno concludes. “We are still here, and that really does mean something after that ride.“

MANTAR:
Hanno Klänhardt – guitars, vocals
Erinc Sakarya – drums

German metal duo MANTAR today unveils their latest video for “Odysseus.” The dark and atmospheric new hymn comes by way of the band’s blistering new full-length, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, set to drop on July 15th via Metal Blade Records.

View MANTAR’s “Odysseus” video here:

The most diverse and multifaceted MANTAR album to date, with their latest offering, guitarist/vocalist Hanno Klänhardt and drummer Erinc Sakarya take things to an entirely new level. Songs boast more melody and an array of guitar tones, influenced in no small part by the artists the pair covered on 2020’s Grungetown Hooligans II collection which featured MANTAR interpretations of songs from the likes of L7, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and The Jesus Lizard, formative bands from their respective youths. “I tried to tweak the guitar sound more according to each individual song and its respective mood,” notes Hanno on the songwriting approach to Pain Is Forever And This Is The End. “We tried to steer away from ‘metal sound’ standards and more in a direction where you can hear different nuances in sound. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we never were a part of any scene, therefore we don’t ‘owe’ a certain sound to anyone.” Hanno even sings on occasion, “instead of only screaming like a maniac.“

Lyrically, tracks delve deep, pondering a variety of uncomfortable questions about mortality, spirituality, and the illusion of “belonging” in a world that’s unraveling and growing more disjointed by the day. “People desperately cling to anything that promises you or at least makes you believe that you ‘matter’ in some way,” notes Hanno, “that you are the master of the situation and that everything behaves as your own logic allows. We live in an interesting time where people have an unspeakable longing to find easy explanations to complex questions.“

Elaborates Hanno of the themes driving the band’s latest single, “‘Odysseus’ is about letting go, about a never-ending journey, about the feeling of never arriving, of being lost and doomed to live life in circles, and about the precious value of sleep.“

View the band’s previously released “Hang ‘Em Low (So The Rats Can Get ‘Em)” video at: youtu.be/uKo7YZlsedo

Find pre-orders at: metalblade.com/mantar

Founded in 2012, MANTAR stands among the leading forces in extreme metal within the last ten years. Loved by fans and press alike, the band took the world by storm with their truly unique sound, leading them to the Top 10 in the official German album charts with their 2018’s The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze and sold out shows throughout Europe.

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End serves as MANTAR‘s most realized output yet. With Hanno prolifically writing riffs at his home in Gainesville, Florida – and throwing away whole albums worth of material – and Erinc working in Germany, the record’s creation proved to be a painstaking effort. “Nothing came together easily for this album and I hated most of the process,” Hanno states plainly. “Even though Covid had not much of an impact on us, the general fucked up mood in the world and the industry had an impact on the record. Everything was very tedious, up to a point where I literally questioned everything and we were damn close to quitting the band. With every song I came up with, there was a period at some point where I thought it sucked. Then I had moments where I thought it’s the best we have ever done. It was bipolar in a way. It was rough and it took a serious toll on me and Erinc that I’m still recovering from.”

After recording their instruments on different continents, Hanno and Erinc entered the studio together in Germany to record vocals and backing vocals, respectively, and decided to take a different, more daring route in terms of production: “With the previous albums, I was so focused on making the band sound exactly as we would sound live. That is cool and still important but this time I wanted to make an album that is overall entertaining and not just a forty-five-minute ‘live set.’ We’ve proved countless times that we have no problems at all convincing in a live setting, so I had to gather some courage to ‘produce’ a little more, mostly in order to entertain myself as the songwriter and producer. Still, there were times where I literally wanted to destroy all my music and myself while making this record and I destroyed a lot of equipment. Maybe it was all worth something,” Hanno concludes. “We are still here, and that really does mean something after that ride.“

German metal duo and recent Metal Blade Records signees, MANTAR, will unleash their scathing new full-length, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, on July 15th today unveiling the record’s cover art, track listing, and first single!

View MANTAR‘s “Hang ‘Em Low (So The Rats Can Get ‘Em)” video here:

Founded in 2012 by guitarist/vocalist Hanno Klänhardt and drummer/vocalist Erinc Sakarya, MANTAR stands among the leading forces in extreme metal within the last ten years. Loved by fans and press alike, the band took the world by storm with their truly unique sound, leading them to the Top 10 in the official German album charts with their 2018’s The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze and sold out shows throughout Europe.

While they’ve pushed the limits on every output, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End serves as MANTAR‘s most realized release yet. “I just knew I wanted to write stronger ‘songs’ in relation to ‘songwriting’ and rely less on being an ‘extreme’ metal act that only convinces through a certain sound or general ‘heaviness,’” notes Hanno. “I invested more time on trying to write better songs, interesting structures, and catchy tunes.” The results speak volumes. This is the most diverse and interesting MANTAR album to date, taking things to the proverbial next level.

Much of the influence on Hanno’s songwriting came from the artists the band covered on 2020’s collection Grungetown Hooligans II, which featured their renditions of songs from the likes of L7, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and The Jesus Lizard, formative bands from their respective youths. Songs feature more melody as well as a variety of guitar tones. “I tried to tweak the guitar sound more according to each individual song and its mood. We tried to steer away from ‘metal sound’ standards and more in a direction where you can hear different nuances in sound. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we never were a part of any scene, therefore we don’t ‘owe’ a certain sound to anyone.” Hanno even sings on occasion “instead of only screaming like a maniac.“

With Hanno prolifically writing riffs at his home in Gainesville, Florida – and throwing away whole albums worth of material – and Erinc working in Germany, the record came together over several months, and proved to be a painstaking process. “Nothing came together easily for this album. Everything sucked and I hated most of the process. I wrote it and we recorded it during a very bad time, and even though Covid had not much of an impact on us of course the general fucked up mood in the world and the industry had an impact on the record. Everything was very tedious, up to a point where I literally questioned everything and we were damn close to quitting the band,” he states plainly. “I thought I just lost ‘it.’ There was no fun anymore and with every song I came up with there was a period at some point where I thought it sucked. Then I had moments where I thought it’s the best we have ever done. It was bipolar in a way. It was rough and it took a serious toll on me and Erinc that I’m still recovering from. Then again I come from the school of ‘no pain no gain,’ which obviously is bullshit and self-destructive but unfortunately that is who I am.“

After recording their instruments on different continents, Hanno and Erinc entered the studio together in Germany to record vocals and backing vocals, respectively, and decided to take a different, more daring route in terms of production: “With the previous albums I was so focused on making the band sound exactly as we would sound live. That is cool and still important but this time I wanted to make an album that is overall entertaining and not just a forty-five-minute ‘live set.’ We’ve proved countless times that we have no problems at all convincing in a live setting, so I had to gather some courage to ‘produce’ a little more, mostly in order to entertain myself as the songwriter and producer.“

In advance of the release of Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, today MANTAR unleashes first single, “Hang ‘Em Low (So The Rats Can Get ‘Em).” Elaborates Hanno on the track, “‘Hang ‘Em Low…’ is one of the catchiest and strongest tunes we ever did. We thought it deserves a cool video that portrays the key Mantar ingredients: stress, hectic and bad vibes plus a whole lot of beautiful sad Florida nature shots… We are an old school band. We can’t help it. Good old fashioned music videos still rule.“

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End will be available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders at: metalblade.com/mantar

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End Track Listing:
1. Egoisto
2. Hang ‘Em Low (So the Rats Can Get ‘Em)
3. Grim Reaping
4. Orbital Pus
5. Piss Ritual
6. Of Frost and Decay
7. Walking Corpse
8. New Age Pagan
9. Horder
10. Odysseus

Metal Blade Records is proud to welcome MANTAR to its worldwide roster!

Founded in 2012 by Hanno and Erinc, Mantar have become one of the leading forces in Extreme Metal within the last 10 years. Loved by fans and press alike, the band conquered the world by storm with their truly unique sound, leading them up to the Top 10 in the Official German album charts with their last studio album The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (2018, Nuclear Blast) and sold out shows all over Europe.

After the self-released cover EP Grungetown Hooligans II (2020), the band is currently finishing up the work on their 4th studio album, slated for a summer 2022 release. Keep your eyes peeled for more news to follow soon!

The band comments: “As a band with a strong DIY background it was very important to us to work with a true independent label that not only respects but encourages our artistic freedom and visions as a band. Physical products still mean everything to us and Metal Blade is still one of the top players in that game. With a dedicated team of true music fans and enthusiasts in Europe and in the US we are happy to have found a new home for our band and motivated worldwide partners for new Mantar tunes.“

Fans can catch the band this year on the following dates (more to follow soon):

presented by Deaf Forever & Visions:
14.07.2022 GER Bremen, Tower (sold out)
16.07.2022 GER Dortmund, Tombstone Open Air
06.08.2022 GER Leipzig, Re-Generation Fest
09.09.2022 GER Hannover, Bei Chez Heinz
10.09.2022 GER Bremen, Hellseatic
15.09.2022 GER Dresden, Chemiefabrik
16.09.2022 GER Köln, Essigfabrik
22.09.2022 GER Münster, Sputnik
23.09.2022 GER Munich, Backstage Werk
24.09.2022 GER Hamburg, Fabrik
29.09.2022 GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
30.09.2022 GER Stuttgart, Im Wizemann
01.10.2022 GER Nürnberg, Z-Bau
07.10.2022 GER Rostock, Zwischenbau
08.10.2022 GER Berlin, C-Theater
21.12.2022 GER Essen, Turock
22.12.2022 GER Leipzig, Conne Island