| Mantra | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 8, 1995 | |||
| Genre | Hardcore punk, Krishnacore | |||
| Length | 30:29 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner, Supersoul | |||
| Producer | Tom Soares, John "Porcell" Porcelly | |||
| Shelter chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[2] |
Mantra is an album by New York City hardcore punk band Shelter.[3][4] Released in 1995, it was the band's first album for Roadrunner.[5][6]
Lyrically the album focuses mainly on Hare Krishna religious philosophy and social commentary on Western civilization — including a manifesto entitled Supersoul in the album's booklet, authored by band's frontman Ray Cappo. The first song, "Message of the Bhagavad", is introduced by an excerpt of a Bhagavad Gita verses reading.
Mantra was distributed in Brazil featuring two bonus tracks, expanding the listing from 11 to 13. Howerever, the lyrics for tracks #12 and #13 were not included in the booklet. By the time of the release, the band hadn't played live in the country yet, which happened for the first time in 1996.[7]
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that Cappo "is an articulate and principled spokesman for transcendental thought set to a tough 4/4 beat."[5] In a retrospective review, Ox-Fanzine called Mantra "a tame rock album from another time."[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Shelter except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Message of the Bhagavat" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Civilized Man" | 2:37 |
| 3. | "Here We Go" | 2:38 |
| 4. | "Appreciation" | 2:08 |
| 5. | "Empathy" | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Not the Flesh" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Chance" | 1:15 |
| 8. | "Mantra" | 3:09 |
| 9. | "Surrender to Your T.V." | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Letter to a Friend" | 3:19 |
| 11. | "Metamorphosis" | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 30:29 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Progressive Man" | 4:23 |
| 13. | "We Can Work It Out" (Lennon/McCartney) | 2:23 |
| Total length: | 37:15 | |
Credits
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References
- ↑ "Mantra - Shelter | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ↑ "Album Review: Shelter - Mantra". DrownedInSound.
- ↑ "Shelter | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ↑ Strauss, Neil (December 23, 1995). "POP REVIEW;Hates Meat And Calls Its Fans 'Murderers' (Published 1995)" – via NYTimes.com.
- 1 2 "Shelter". Trouser Press. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ↑ Cogan, Brian (2006). Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 200–201.
- ↑ "Grupo Shelter deve fazer show no Brasil". Folhateen. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2014. In Portuguese
- ↑ "Review". www.ox-fanzine.de.