Mankind's Remedy - Faceless
Louisiana’s premiere alt-rock outfit Mankind’s Remedy recently dropped their debut album, Faceless.
Mankind's Remedy
The band is made up of Travyn Hargrave (vocals, lead guitar), Bennett Price (drummer), and Mason Dugas (bass, backing vocals). Too young to legally drink, two of the guys are 17-years-old, while the third is only 16. But they do know how to hold it down! There’s a musical chemistry to Mankind’s Remedy that a lot of bands don’t ever achieve, which probably explains why they sound so good.
The lead single from the album, called “Hey Buddy” was selected by the Wright Music Group as a feature song broadcast via Comcast to U.S. military bases. Right now, the band is working on their next album.
Comprising 12-tracks, the album starts off with “Hey Buddy,” a mid-tempo alt-rock tune with hints of proto-punk flavors. There’s a delicious laid-back feel to this song akin to the Allman Brothers in the early days. I love the tight blistering energy of the guitar solo.
Entry points on the album include “The Pit,” opening on a snarling, dark colored guitar backed by potent percussion from Price. Hargrave’s voice, rasping and growling, infuses the lyrics with wicked flavors. The harmonics on this song are raw and grinding, with hints of bluesy potency.
Rough and tough, "Brother" might be my favorite tune on the album because of its brawny heft, thick and dark and heavy.
“Hysteria” kicks things up a notch, encompassing muddy guitars and beau coup sonic impact. Rife with filaments of punk ferocity, raunchy and tough, the vocals shift from melodic to sharp pungency, imbuing the lyrics with tense necessity.
“Break me into pieces / Hate me have your vengeance / Wake me from the dream that keeps us / Waiting for the end of existence.”
“Worthless” pervades the atmosphere with gloomy, melancholic colors, while Hargrave’s deep tenor intensifies the stygian feeling of the tune. This track is so raw it bleeds, especially when the searing guitar solo takes over.
I love the way “Brother” opens with rippling, echoing guitar riffs flowing into suppressed energy that ramps up and blows you away with dirty radioactive force. Hargrave struts his skill on his axe, making that sucker bawl sonic tears. Rough and tough, this might be my favorite tune on the album because of its brawny heft, thick and dark and heavy.
Mankind’s Remedy surely has oodles of talent, churning out a grand album full of original, innovative energy graced with tight and right tones.
