The Chase, the highly anticipated fourth full-length album from Juno nominee Manafest, comes out as his most aggressive and sonically evolved record to date. Manafest has been organically building his fan base for the last 6 years playing hundreds of shows on three continents. In 2006 Manafest released Glory from which the rock anthem “Impossible” featuring Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch becoming a global hit. Following up in 2008 with Citizens Activ, Manafest garnered multiple TV and movie placements and increased his overall presence in the US and Internationally. The Chase, produced by Adam Messinger (Chris Brown and Brandy) hits with twelve tracks of gritty guitars and aggressive rhymes fusing rock and rap styles.
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01.
No Plan B
02.
Fire In The Kitchen
03.
Supernatural
04.
Every Time You Run
05.
Bring the Ruckus
06.
Avalanche
07.
Married In Vegas
08.
Renegade
09.
The Chase
10.
Better Cause of You
11.
Breaking Down these Walls
Entry last edited by on 01.21.11
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Rapzilla.com Review: Manafest 'The Chase'| Posted March 30, 2010
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Rapzilla.com
For years, Manafest has straddled the line between rock and rap, drawing comparisons to such groups as Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, KJ-52’s Peace of Mind project and even Eminem. With the release of The Chase, it seems like the artist has finally become comfortable in his own skin, categorizing his project as “rock” rather than “rap.” And I’d say he’s somewhere on the spectrum between Linkin and Limp…kinda like Fort Minor. This may disappoint some of his longtime fans, but it will more than likely gain him far more fans than he will lose.
“No Plan B” is the lead single off the album and comes complete with a random music video featuring Manafest skateboarding across what appears to be Tokyo, Japan. It’s a strong start to the album, establishing that this is who he is and there’s “no turning back, no plan B.”
“Fire In The Kitchen” is the requisite rebellious youth anthem of the project. This is a “pump your fist in the air” kind of number that declares, “No we’re gonna rock it till the lights go out/There’s fire in the kitchen again/Now we’re gonna rock it till the wheels fall off/We got it going on!” There’s no underlying message. Just seems to be about fun and games.
“Supernatural” starts out with a haunting guitar before careening into a raucous din of drums, bass, electric guitars, and Manafest’s vocals rising to the for. The most spiritually-attuned song on the album, it could be referring to Jesus saving us or it could just be a nebulous rescuer. Interpretation will depend on the listener.
“Bring The Ruckus” is a lot like “Fire In The Kitchen,” which is why I suppose they put “Supernatural” between the two. Had one followed the other, you might not have known you’d moved on to the next track.
“Married In Vegas” is probably the most impulsive, irresponsible song on the album. I don’t foresee a lot of people running off to Vegas to get married because of this song, but given the intended audience, one can never be sure. Beyond that, the song is just stupid. What was likely intended to add variety to The Chase will leave discerning listeners scratching their heads as to how it has anything to do with the rest of what they’ve heard.
Title track “The Chase” is a solid number, but it is sometimes difficult to understand what is being said. Manafest depends more on his old school rapper chops, spitting too fast to pick up what is being said at times. The production mix isn’t as crystal clear as the rest of the album, so that might have something to do with it.
Make no mistake, The Chase is aimed squarely at the teenaged, skater, rocker, slacker demographic. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially given that this is getting more of a general market push. Manafest may be swimming in a bigger pond now, now, but I wonder how this album will be able to differentiate itself from all the other albums that sounds like it. “It’s newer” is not a strong selling point. However, if someone picks it up, they get a heavier dose of fun and hope than they’re used to in their music diet.
Overall, Manafest has a good project on his hands. Time will tell how well it does in the arena of public opinion.
4.5/5| Posted December 04, 2010
After listening to the excellent Citizens Activ, I wondered what Manafest was going to come up with next. I then read that his next project will be a 2 album effort with one album being straight rock and the other straight hip-hop. Now we have the first half of this project and it bests Citizens Activ in every way. It's better written, better produced, and all around sounds better. Most of the tracks are straight rock songs and within those songs are very different types of rock sounds. One song is very reminiscent of P.O.D. This is a great album that people who like rock music and people who are Manafest fans should definitely pick up.
Worth listening to!| Posted April 02, 2010
I will admit, Rap isn't my favorite genre and I wasn't so sure what I thought about Manafest, but this album is awesome. I think it is a great mixture of rap and rock. The tracks with Trevor always stand out to me. "No Plan B", "Fire In The Kitchen" and "The Chase" are my current favorites. Check this cd out!
edge| Posted March 30, 2010
I really like this new album. I have been waiting for it. It is definitely not what I expected. All of the past Manafest records had a more rap style, this has more of a rock edge. I like that though. Overall it is a good album.
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