UltraMantis is the alter ego of a famous professional wrestler who is mainly active in the Chikara competition. He won a couple of times, and when he does not need to fight, he works as commentator for other wrestling matches. His professional nickname is based on the fact that he wears a mantis-mask, as part of his wrestling image. Anyway, he joined forces with members of Punk-band Pissed Jeans in what eventually became UltraMantis Black. And this hobby-band now debuts with a first nameless EP, consisting of nine short sonic assaults (total running time: thirteen minutes only).
The UltraMantis Black-EP combines fast and furious Punk-based Hardcore attacks with the filthiness of primal Old School Grindcore, timeless D-Beat aggression, and psycho-grinding Crust-Punk. It’s not that mathematically constructed, but the nasty noise-eruptions are, despite being very short in length, pretty varying. That’s a surplus, for this mixture of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Lightning Bolt, very early Dillinger Escape Plan, Ambassador Gun, Fistula and even Brutal Truth and Agathocles could have been too painful if lacking some diversity in tempo, melody and structure. Though this specific kind of sonic torture isn’t usually my cup of tea, I was pretty positively surprised. In its specific sub-genre, UltraMantis Black will become a name to be feared in the future.