Storytelling is something that I’ve always been incredibly fond of ever since I was a child because any good music with a solid story to go with it makes the experiences of both far more flavorful right away. It’s really only been Eremit in recent times that has brought it in front of me with such an unquestionable quality in the entire performance, but I always knew that there are plenty of other acts that do it just as well, and it’s tonight that I finally discovered one in the form of Huntmen’s latest effort.

With a whopping 13 tracks and a runtime that stretches way over an hour, Huntsmen had plenty to throw our way with this album, and I’ll be honest to say that I expected at least a little bit of dead space throughout the record. Just some songs that felt a tad like filler, but there isn’t a single piece of anything that “Mandala of Fear” brings our way which falls flat in any form nor does it lack in any way when compared to the rest of this epic album. Huntsmen bring many different sounds to the table with all of their fantastic riffs and tremendous storytelling from stoner rock to doom to even some light psychedelia to bring some interesting flavors into an already delicious mix that just make “Mandala of Fear” an all-around incredibly fun record that’s wonderful to just sink your teeth into. It’s constantly changing its form and sound to immediately become something different from track to track what feels like every single time, and never once does Huntsmen drop the ball with the melody, the excellence, nor how exciting the album is right from the get-go. We’re treated to albums like this only on occasion with the quality and innovation always varying depending upon the band, and I feel it goes without saying here that “Mandala of Fear” surpasses most on both fronts by the end of this tremendous effort.

Huntsmen dreamed big when creating this album, and it’s obvious that they’ve achieved it beautifully here without hesitation or error to be had in its entirety. This is a rare occurrence by every stand, and should “Mandala of Fear” pass into obscurity despite its grand quality and undeniable sound then it will be a true tragedy like few others.

LISTEN to “Mandala of Fear” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Huntsmen on Facebook here.