The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara are an exciting and genre-defying duo blessed with glaring talent and true imagination. The alternative twosome have just revealed their thought provoking and powerful new single (available to order now). The band have also just set loose a visually striking accompanying video which you can scroll down to enjoy. The noisesome twosome took time to detail a few tracks that have influenced their own sound…
American Pie by Don McLean (1971)
Daphne: One of the most beautiful songs ever written. I loved how McLean incorporated so many characters into such a vivid story line in a song. My dad would play this in the car and I would sing along as a kid. I loved it so much that I had to memorise all the lyrics. It was only later that I found out that the song was about the death of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in a plane accident in 1959. Just fathom what the world would have been or would be like on “the day the music died”. The lyrics continue to inspire me to write with meaning.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (1975)
Andrea: This song, in particular the section from 4:07 to 5:10. When I listened to that riff, it made me realise that I love rock, and there was no turning back. A Night at the Opera was also the first cassette tape I ever bought.
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Battery by Metallica (1986)
Andrea: So after Queen, the second cassette I bought was Master of Puppets by Metallica, and “Battery” was the first song in the album. I loved how the song started with pensive acoustic guitars then gave way to these amazing galloping electric guitar riffs. It was when I heard metal for the first time. This song, together with the whole album, was the reason why I wanted to learn the guitar, and so I did.
South of Heaven by Slayer (1988)
Daphne: “South of Heaven” was the first metal song that truly connected to me deeply. The opening solo was the first thing I learnt to play on my (classical) guitar. I loved the rich and witty metaphors of Tom Arraya, and how he fooled everyone into thinking the song was about hell, but really it was about the depravation of our modern society and its structures.
Prison Sex by TOOL (1993)
Andrea: Listening to TOOL helped to reveal the inner worlds within me. To me, they stood out from everything else, not only was their approach very different to how metal was at that time. Their music instigated my search for something deeper, mostly because they showed me a way to connect with my consciousness, and a means to get in touch with my unconscious and inner worlds.
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Lateralus by TOOL (2001)
Daphne: I got to know about TOOL really late in life (shocking). Andrea introduced TOOL to me actually. I have always been driven by the psychoanalytic theories of Carl Jung. So when I first heard the the lyrics of “Lateralus” (“Black then white are all I see in my infancy/Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me/Lets me see”), I realised it was referring to the four stages of the alchemical process – referred to Jung as the process of individuation. It is one thing to aid the journey towards wholeness through texts, but it truly is another when you can experience it in sonic and visual form. Thank you TOOL.
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