MANES is a whole different kind of darkness. "How the World Came To An End" is less about piddly, cartoonish occultism and more about atmospheric, methodical unpleasantness bordering on morose erotica. It's slimy, gloomy, and extreme in a unique way, unconcerned with the "rules" of sub-genres.

"Deeprooted" opens this peculiar album with video game noise before slithering into a vampiric Techno beat, which twists into an oozing blend of apocalyptic troubadour SCOTT WALKER and underrated industrial act CANDIRU. The sinister Hip-Hop of "Come To Pass" is more DALEK than DARKTHRONE, and every bit as hellish as both, while "I Watch You Fall" lies somewhere between the Southern Goth bleakness of 16 HORSEPOWER and a less-heavenly sounding JESU. "A Cancer In Our Midst" wraps a MY DYING BRIDE Funeral Metal riff over an EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN beat, like a snake-handler using a python to choke a heavy piece of machinery. "Nobody Wants The Truth" feels like a hybrid of post "Times Of Grace" NEUROSIS and New Wave pioneers MAGAZINE at their most distressed, whereas "Last Lights" is moody and meditative, like walking through an empty aquarium whose only source of light is the black water behind the glass walls.

What "How The World Came To An End" lacks in metallic crunch it more than makes up for in imagination and musical acumen. These are people who are clearly big fans of music, and while you can't exactly stand in front of a mirror and twirl your hair to their stylings, if you're seeking something truly interesting that's as bleak as any Black Metal or as miserable as any Funeral Doom, then "How The World Came to an End" is a more than gratifying listening experience.