ALBUM REVIEW: Conan - “Man is Myth” (Early Demos)

By: Mark Ambrose


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:17/11/2017

Label: Napalm Records

Like most collections of curiosities, “Man Is Myth” is not the entry point for those curious about Conan.  But if you’ve explored “Monnos”, “Blood Eagle”, and “Revengeance”, and want to explore the raw, developing style of one of the UK’s premiere metal bands, “Man Is Myth” is an interesting and occasionally thrilling addition to any advanced metal head’s library.

“Man is Myth”CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.       Battle in the Swamp (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

2.       Satsumo (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

3.       Krull (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

4.       Satsumo (Rehearsal Room Demo 2006)

5.       Gravity Chasm (Studio Demo 2012)

6.       Foehammer (Studio Demo 2012)

7.       Domed Iron Boss (Studio Demo 2012)

The Review:

Apocrypha, marginalia, and demo materials may be the realm that divides the enthusiastic fan from the pop culture obsessive.  While they were largely disseminated through tape trading (or bootlegs of official, unofficial, or highly suspect quality), the “alternate” versions of many songs, or entire albums, has become a boon to a record industry that is excavating the seams of extant material to repackage to the diminishing population of genuine music buyers.  In some cases you get real disasters: poorly mastered, volume boosted in ways that degrade the dynamic range that only true audio obsessives may understand, or (in the most nefarious cases) whole sections of songs re-recorded to nullify the contributions of ex-band members.  Occasionally you get the odd collection that captures the raw intensity of a lauded band, or maybe highlights a track that never found its way onto a “proper” studio recording.  In the case of “Man Is Myth – Early Demos”, the first compilation from modern doom legends Conan, there’s a bit of everything, particularly for the true Conan fanatic.

The first four cuts on “Man Is Myth” come from the odd “prehistory” of Conan, when the band existed as a two-piece featuring constant member Jon Davis and drummer Paul O’Neil, with a short tenure by Rich Grundy on drums in 2006.  After a hiatus in 2008-2009, the Conan that fans have come to know from albums like “Monnos” and “Blood Eagle”, with a punishing low end bolstered by a full guitar, drums, and bass power trio lineup, really began in earnest.  That being said, there’s some undeniable intensity and chaotic flair to the first half of “Man is Myth”.  A live 2006 rehearsal of “Satsumo”, featuring the only contribution by Grundy, is by far the rawest cut on the collection.  It’s definitely the sound of a project in flux, though the vocals are more discernable than those on tracks 1-3.  Those 2009 demo tracks, with Paul O’Neil more decisively ensconced behind the kit, ride on overwhelming guitar power, with just the lightest smattering of howling vocals in the background.  Its interesting stuff, no doubt, for people already committed to the cult of Conan.

The real standouts are the last 3 tracks, culled from in studio 2012 demos.  “Gravity Chasm” and “Foehammer” would later appear as fully realized versions on breakthrough album “Blood Eagle”, and the rhythmic interplay between Davis, O’Neil, and bassist Phil Coumbe show Conan as a properly thrashing band.  There’s a lot more polish and nuance to the recording here, especially with the added bass range, but the sheer vehemence and swagger of a live, occasionally sloppy Conan is undeniably exhilarating.  “Gravity Chasm” is a bit of a disappointment as it’s a mere segment of what would eventually be a nearly 8 minute epic, but “Foehammer” remains a mighty beast.  At nearly 7 minutes, it greatly expands on the album version.

The main attraction is “Domed Iron Boss”, a fifteen minute doom epic that is relentlessly cold.  It’s a spare, haunting song that rides central motifs so hard you can’t help but feel like smashing something in your path.  Even if this is the one essential track on “Man is Myth”, it feels like a lost classic – I would imagine the crushing final section whipping a crowd into a Neanderthal mosh frenzy in a live setting.  And when I put my glasses back on and shift into higher minded “music critic” mode, it’s an encapsulation of a now-defunct version of the band, with Coumbe and O’Neil having parted ways with Davis.  There was an undeniable energy of this iteration, though Davis’s efforts with various drummers and bassist Chris Fielding have continued to expand on Conan’smythic potential.

Like most collections of curiosities, “Man Is Myth” is not the entry point for those curious about Conan.  But if you’ve explored “Monnos”, “Blood Eagle”,and “Revengeance”, and want to explore the raw, developing style of one of the UK’s premiere metal bands, “Man Is Myth” is an interesting and occasionally thrilling addition to any advanced metal head’s library.

“Man Is Myth” is available here

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