Manes started around the end of 92/early 93. It started as a project with Sargatanas on vocals and Cern on guitars, synths, programming etc. - basically everything besides the vocals. With that line-up Manes recorded the three demos ?Maanens natt" (93), ?Ned i stillheten" (94) and ?Til kongens grav de døde vandrer" (95). The two first demos was later re-released by the Hammerheart Records sub-label ?Unveiling the Wicked" in 98. In 99 the album ?Under ein blodraud maane" was released by Hammerheart Records as well, and it was simply a re-recording of various tracks from the three previous demos. Cern felt the project became more and more of a burden as he had spurs of no motivation, troubles with disease, little or no interest in the growing metal-scene etc.etc. - so, to activate the band again he chose to include a full line-up, Sargatanas left the band, and after a while a contract was signed with the Italian label Code666 - where the second Manes full-length ?Vilosophe" was released in 2003. The album was recorded at Skansen Studio in Manes' hometown Trondheim, and the music was labelled "Neo Avant Metal" by Code666, but the band themselves choose to ignore this rather silly "description", and simply call the music a dark mix of metal and rock with electronic elements.

Manes has played live with bands like Isis, Katatonia, Red Harvest, Madder Mortem, Theater of Tragedy, Black Comedy and has preformed on festivals like Quart, Inferno, Hole In The Sky and Southern Discomfort with bands like Fantomâs, Danzig, Kreator, Sadus, Aborym, My Dying Bride and Mayhem etc. Apart from this Manes has done more experimental concerts like a semi-accoustic set at the opening of an multimedial art-exhibition and a noise/drone co-operation with the duo Bush Revolution.

Manes in a live-situation usually consists of Emil on lead vocals, Tommy on backing vocals, Tor-Arne on percussion, Eivind on lead guitar, Skei on electronics and rythm guitar, Rune on drums and Torstein on bass.

The new EP entitled [view] is finished and has been given a February 2006 releasedate. Manes is currently in pre-production for two new seperate albums tentatively titled "Invention - or how the world came to an end and why we did it" and "Be all//End all".