Ultramantis Black: When Wrestling and Hardcore Meet

We’ve been hearing about Ultramantis Black — the new hardcore band featuring underground professional wrestler Ultramantis Black with members of Pissed Jeans backing him up — since Relapse Records signed them nearly a year ago. It’s a cool gimmick, for sure — I feel like the pro wrestling angle hasn’t been exploited by metal as much as it could be, especially in the underground metal world (not talking about Chris Jericho here) — but beyond that, does the music hold up? The debut Ultramantis Black EP finally came out last week (order here); so what’s the verdict?

Well, I’m still not really sure, because their new music video for “Biomonster DNA” is so damned hypnotizing and beautiful. I’d definitely like to see more of this guy in the ring, although I’m not sure I’d really spin the Ultramantis Black EP in my own time based on this song. It’s not that the song isn’t good, it’s that I just don’t really know: ’90s hardcore isn’t my cup of tea, so I’ll leave quality judgments to those more in the know than I (here’s another track if you’re interested). But bring me more videos like this — and an entertaining live show — and I’m totally in!