The Man-Eating Tree – Vine

Releasedate: 27-09-2010; Label: Century Media
By: Elvira Visser

Outside autumn has arrived. Leaves turn yellow, brown and red and the days turn shorter. It is time to curl up on a big chair and listen to some atmospheric music. The Man-Eating Tree is new band from Finland which is presenting their debut album “Vine”. Somehow the Finnish musicians are the best in creating these melancholic sound-scapes.

The band saw its origin when Vesa Ranta wanted to start a new band after Sentenced and there were some brainstorm sessions with some of his friends about this new band. These friends were Miika Tenkula (Sentenced), Janne Markus (Poisonblack) and Mikko Uusimaa (Reflexion). Unfortunately Miika’s life came to a sudden end. Vesa and him had only recorded one song together. After some time of grief a new turn Vesa got a call about a possible singer. They found the right singer in Tuomas Tuominen (Fall Of The Leafe), his voice suited the music perfectly and he was whom they were looking for. In spring/summer 2009 the line up was completed. The Man-Eating Tree is really a band where everyone contributes, Janne Markus mainly composes the music whereas Tuomas takes care of the lyrics. Vesa Ranta took care or all the artwork.

The Man-Eating Tree teamed up, for the vocals and the mix of the album, with Hiili Hiilesmaa. (who worked with Amorphis, Apocalyptica and HIM) Who is a friend of the band, and one of those producers who is open to try different things, like using sounds of whales. In the end The Man-Eating Tree knows how to create these pieces of music full of melancholy and atmospheric moments. Controlled bursts alternate in their music with great melody lines and passages, from almost aggressive to gentle. Tuomas voice fits perfectly and really contributes to the overall atmosphere. Former Embrace keyboardist Heidi Määttä takes care of the finishing touch. The music reminds me a little of Tool/A Perfect Circle in the way the progressive sounds and the melodies are used, how there are doom influences while the music does not make you depressed when listening. On the album you can find a cover “Nights In White Satin”, which was originally Miika Tenkula’s idea to make a recording of this. The band recorded this in Miika’s memory.

When you like atmospheric progressive metal you should really buy this album. It might take a few listing sessions before you truly appreciate The Man-Eating Tree but these all well known musicians teamed up to deliver a great album.

Line-Up:
Tuomas Tuominen – Vocals
Janne Markus – Guitars
Mikko Uusimaa – Bass
Heidi Määttä – Keyboards
Vesa Ranta – Drums

Tracklist: 01. Lathing A New Man 02. The White Plateau 03. This Longitude Of Sleep 04. King Of July 05. Of Birth For Passing 06. Out Of The Wind 07. Nights In White Satin 08. Tide Shift 09. Instead Of Sand And Stone 10. Amended

Links:
The Man-Eating Tree MySpace
The Man-Eating Tree Official