And the award for the most unpronounceable song titles on a single album release goes to... no but seriously I'm all for ethnic diversity in my vocabulary and this Canadian duo have certainly put through me through my paces in that department. MANAHIL have only been around a couple of years but the musicianship and production on display here would fool you into thinking they'd been around a lot longer. This is mainly due to the expertise of keyboardist / producer Mathieu Fiset who is well travelled in the world of progressive metal and who is obviously a very versatile musician as the album displays ambient electro-industrial influences as well as eastern folk and at times metal as well. ‘Andourou Ila Kabri’ is richly laired with synthetic samples of traditional eastern folk instruments at play over the sinister electronic sounds and the juxtaposing of the ethereal voice of Hind Fazazi and electro-metal style drums, but just as you think the song is about to kick it up a notch, it ends. What comes next is the rousing folk-rock of ‘Ouardatou Sabah’, that suffers slightly from a formulaic construction despite its interesting interplay of traditional and futuristic sounds. Track three ‘Biharou Tofoulati’, quickens the pace and really shows what these two are capable of, though Hind's vocals sound a little subdued in parts when they could project more. The next two tracks are menacing because of their minimalistic deliveries: ‘Ihsasoun Min Dahab’ is fuelled primarily by simple electronic drones under a thin layer of instrumentation, whereas ‘Addalam’ is an emotional soft vocal track that contrasts perfectly with the rich middle eastern decadence of ‘AlfLaiila Oua Laiila’ which has to be the album's instrumental centrepiece, utilising all those progressive influences as well. From this point on the song writing and performance seems a lot more self assured and confident in its delivery, with ‘Moutahid Bil Hawa’ finally following through on what the first couple of tracks attempted but fell short on, then ‘Min Faok’ takes a very progressive rock turn with the first overt use of guitars on the album. All this confidence is a good thing considering the final track is split into several parts and is an epic creation that draws on everything you've heard thus far on the album to create a track that brings to mind 'Requiem' by ASP insomuch as that its like several different style songs as an almost sub-album rather than a big sprawling progressive epic. There are a lot of fresh and interesting dynamics to this band which make them stand out from the usual ambient crowd and definitely shows a lot of promise. However, there is an over reliance on the electronics on this album, especially in the percussion department - real drums and if necessary guest musicians, would give this album a fuller and more developed sound rather than the flat sound that creeps through the otherwise richly texture songs. With an EP in the works for this Spring (2009)it will be interesting to see which direction the band choose to go in, but based on this release I'm sure it will be an attention-grabbing one.

Quebec, Canada's very own - Manahil, with their first full-length album, "Hadayane" is perhaps one of the most interesting albums you will ever hear! It features the vocals and lyrics of Hind Fazazi, and Mathieu Fiset whom was not only the keyboardist and pianist, but the composer of this curious masterpiece. One of the standout tracks includes, "Alf Laïla Oua Laïla", wich one might visualize a Succubus riding her camel through the desert upon hearing this song. "Alf Laïla Oua Laïla" is not only mythical and psychedelic, but carries an undertone of shadows in its mists. The heavy drumming and the most exotic of vocals are taken over by a mysterious shroud of the haunting first track, "Andourou Ila Kabri", wich is reviewed briefly once more in the last few cuts in a four-part melody called "Oua Akhirane". Another intriguing feature is that this album and the songs were written in arabic by Hind Fazazi. At times this album is folk-like and ethereal, while at other times it has a well-noted heavier-edge (especially the percussion). If you desire beautifull vocals that make even the angels jealous or compositions that would make even the greatest composers green-eyed, then you should order yourself a copy of "Hadayane"...even if you already have it !

Hadayane is an upbeat rock and tribal influenced album featuring intoxicating Arabic female vocals that are just exquisite. There is a classic rock sound which seemed present throughout the album but what I really enjoyed was the tracks that more strongly featured a beautiful of combination acoustic tribal drumming along side electronic percussions. There was such a wide variety of musical influences that it’s easy to pick out what suits you best from the 14 tracks on this album as it is all well produced with a driving and passionate force.

Manahil, the side project of Adamind’s keyboardist Mathieu Fiset, is a breed of ambient/folk/world music with a wide variety of influences. You have extreme metal drumming (though synthetic), ethereal female vocals, Middle Eastern and Indian inspired melodies, and electronic/industrial elements into a package that is extremely multifaceted and a good buy for anyone into the ambient scene. Perhaps it’s my typical taste speaking out, but I almost see this as ambient/folk music for metalheads. It’s possible that Mathieu’s other two bands, both prog metal, have influenced the craftsmanship of this one. The propulsive drumming, occasional prog metal guitars, and overall sense of writing seems to reflect a heavy metal background more than you would expect. This is not to say that’s it a heavy metal album by any stretch of the imagination; just that it’s the sort of ambient music produced by predominantly metal artists. The material is primarily composed of gentle, drifting, clean female vocals over complex, interlacing synth lines and tribal or metal drumming. Seems pretty straightforward, but the song structures vary things dramatically. Each track emphasizes something different, with the other musical objects pushed into the background to compensate for increased focus on one figure. Some tracks have a greater emphasis on vocals, while others employ distorted guitars; many are focused squarely on the complex, proggy keyboard melodies. It all generally revolves around the same style, though: Middle Eastern/Indian folk music. It’s certainly modernized with the synthetic drums and subtle industrial and electronic elements, but the roots of the music are in folk. I suppose, on that note, that your enjoyment of this album will greatly depend on whether you enjoy such a style of music. While the newer elements do certainly put a spin on the style, the basis is still on folk, and that will determine your satisfaction with ‘Hadayane’. Personally, I enjoy it as background music: the general stillness (at least compared to what I normally listen to) makes it a bit too thin for me to focus all my attention on, but I find it pretty nice as ambiance while I’m working. A good comparison would be to the African portions of the ‘Gladiator’ soundtrack. Did you enjoy that? Then you’ll absolutely love the music here. Overall, good, mellow music that is a pleasing listen throughout.