Black Mantra has just dropped the video premiere for their track “Wrong,” taken from their latest EP Knowledge is over. The Bressuire-based band, active since 2017, blends old-school hardcore punk energy with moments of reggae oddity. Formed by members and ex-members of Bunkum, Lasting Values, Move On, and Circles, the quartet continues to carry the flag of the French west coast DIY hardcore scene.
The self-directed video mixes live footage, visuals of the band’s bassist, and a range of film clips that evoke psychological fragmentation and collective anxiety. Referencing characters like Tyler Durden and Jack Torrance, it taps into cinematic representations of instability to mirror the song’s core themes.
“I made this video as a collage of images from movies that influenced me, visuals of our bassist, and live shots, all mixed together with metaphorical images about human madness,” the band shares.
Lyrically, “Wrong” deals directly with mental health and the struggle of conforming to a society that feels alien. “It’s about mental health problems and the pressure on us to integrate into a society we don’t want to be part of,” they explain.
That tension—between rejection and forced integration—is central to the group’s worldview. “In the Black Mantra texts, there is a constant discussion about who is crazy: them or us?”
The track itself leans into a fast, raw 90s hardcore sound with hints of Bad Religion-style urgency. The EP Knowledge is over follows three previous EPs and a split release, solidifying Black Mantra’s place in a regional scene that includes Syndrome 81, Hard Mind, Offensive, Doze, A.T.H., and others.
Fans of Shelter, Cause For Alarm, or Burning Heads will likely find something familiar in Black Mantra’s mix of speed, resistance, and introspection. But there’s no nostalgia here—just a blunt look at the cracks in the systems we’re asked to function in, and a refusal to play along quietly.