L.A.-based quartet
Here Lies Man emerged in the mid-2010s with a hypnotic sound that married West African rhythms and harmony to the riff-based architecture of hard rock. The band grew increasingly psychedelic and smoky in their production, sounding like a sinister hybrid of metal mayhem and African traditions on albums like 2021's
Ritual Divination.
Here Lies Man was conceptualized and founded by guitarist/composer/arranger
Chico Mann (aka
Marcos Garcia) of
Antibalas and
the Daktaris, merging West African sounds and metallic guitar riffing to create an intense, danceable, and trance-like musical persona. Formed in 2017 and featuring
Mann on guitar,
Geoff Mann (son of
Herbie Mann) on drums, Rich Panta on percussion,
Will Rast on keys, and J.P. Maramba on bass, the group's April 2017 self-titled debut full-length was issued by Riding Easy Records. The Animal Noises EP arrived later that November, with the hard-touring (and -recording) crew delivering another full-length blast of
Sabbathy Afro-pop in 2018 via their sophomore effort, You Will Know Nothing.
The band returned with third album
No Ground to Walk Upon in mid-2019, incorporating touches of boogie, funk, and dub into their Afro-metal sound. While
Here Lies Man had been playing live as a quartet, most of their records were assembled entirely by
Chico Mann and
Geoff Mann. All four bandmembers worked together in the studio for the first time on fourth album
Ritual Divination, which was released in January 2021 and continued the group's visceral Afro-metal riffing. ~ Thom Jurek