On "Verstaerker" (German for "amplifier") MANTUS both sound familiar and enticingly different. As if to live up to this title, Schindler amplifies the emotions, the urgency, puts a spotlight on himself and on his troubled soul. In an astounding manner, influences find their way into the cosmos of MANTUS that have always been a part of Martin Schindler but have never been made audible like this. "Alles auf Null" spreads an almost feverish post-punk mood with furious force, songs like "Keiner" or the anthemic title track are reminiscent of an apocalyptic rock opera with brooding arrangements and Schindlers admonishing vocals while "Sch in der Nacht" comes as a stirring, poignant goth-punk song against war and violence. MANTUS sound 2023 rockier, grippier, more disillusioned than ever. And yet as urgent, as important, as relevant as never before. Perhaps MANTUS have become more worldly in their choice of themes, away from the graveyard masterpieces of yore; "Amplifier", however, proves that MANTUS have only become more honest, more intimately felt. Exactly what we need in our time and age.