Three years after their 2022 album Pain Is Forever And This Is The End nearly killed them, German black/sludge metal duo Mantar is back to hit us with a new slab of bad times with their newly announced record Post Apocalyptic Depression. Sounds cheery.

Described by the band as an opportunity to shake things up after the last album, guitarist and vocalist Hanno Klänhardt said it was only natural for them to change gears heading into 2025.

“We wanted to do everything different from the last album. The last album was very produced. A huge sounding record with clean production. Display of power. That was what we wanted and felt at that time. Now we are trying to destroy what we’ve built up with the last album. There is a certain beauty in disappointing people’s expectations.”

Gotta love that last line, as I think it really sets the tone for what the album’s going to be. But an even better indicator of the forthcoming album’s sound is its first single, which the duo also dropped on us yesterday — “Halsgericht”.

As you can hear in the video below, the song’s punky as hell with a dark overtone that colors the whole damn thing. It’s brooding without having to slow shit down, yet it retains all of the fury imbued into each note.

Speaking of the track itself, Klänhardt explained what the song’s title means and how it relates to the rest of the album.

“As a precursor to the record’s release, today MANTAR unleashes first single, “Halsgericht”. The title means something like ‘the right to impose extra heavy punishment.’ MANTAR style. Old fashioned darkness. It’s fun to not only finally work with a German song title but also introduce some German lines to the song. It makes it weird and sinister. Just what we like. Especially in the US, people seem to love these kinda vibes. Fine by us. Celebrating it with the most epic hook of the whole album.”

Post Apocalyptic Depression will be released on Valentine’s Day (February 14) via Metal Blade Records, but you can preorder your copy right now. The band’s also got a short run through Germany coming up as a supporting act for Kvelertak. You can find the full list of dates below.

MANTAR Live w/ Kvelertak, Urne:

2/15/2025 Astra Kulturhaus – Berlin, DE*
2/16/2025 Große Freiheit – Hamburg, DE *
2/18/2025 Patronaat – Haarlem, NL
2/19/2025 Bastard Club – Osnabrück, DE #
2/25/2025 Cabaret Sauvage – Paris, FR
2/27/2025 Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE *
2/28/2025 Theaterfabrik – Munich, DE*
3/21/2025 Musikzentrum – Hannover, DE#
dsf3/22/2025 Braincrusher Festival – Hirschaid, DE #

*co-headlining show

MANTAR only