Mysterium - Soulwards
Prophecy Productions - Pro 057 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Hmm, this one's intriguing - an intelligent and sometimes perplexing mixture of melodic black metal, progressive influence and death metal aggressiveness wrapped up in intrigueingly complex arrangements, surprisingly verbose lyrical accompaniment and a general feeling of uniqueness. Imagine early Soilwork colliding with Emperor's Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk with a shade of Winds to boot. So, a particularly heady brew of metallic elements then - how well have they pulled it off?
Well, it's pleasant to report that this is a rather potent cocktail of metallic influences, intoxicating both in it's impact and complexity. A range of vocal styles are used, from a quiet groaning to an early-Soilwork scream, incorporating some fine melodic clean vocals too. Keyboards are omnipresent throughout, but thankfully they are skilfully utilised, with simple piano melodies acting as a fitting counterpoint to heavy-ass riffage, or choral synths filling out the sound during the more black metal-esque passages.
Unfortunately, the shifts in musical style throughout the album are more in the league of Enslaved than Opeth's masterful, seamless blending - the tempo changes and shifts from heavy to more introspective passages can occasionally seem somewhat forced, and the songwriting in general suffers from a lack of excellence in the heaviness department. The clean singing, piano melodies, clean guitars and more gothicall-oriented songs and passages are of the highest standard, but the aggressive sections, while competently written, are somewhat lacking in comparison.
Still, though, this is an impressively unique take on mixing up different styles of metal, and bolstered by a good, spacious production and eloquent lyricism, should find itself on many of the more discerning metalhead's stereos.
7.5
Mysterium's Official Website
Prophecy Productions Website
Prophecy Productions - Pro 057 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Hmm, this one's intriguing - an intelligent and sometimes perplexing mixture of melodic black metal, progressive influence and death metal aggressiveness wrapped up in intrigueingly complex arrangements, surprisingly verbose lyrical accompaniment and a general feeling of uniqueness. Imagine early Soilwork colliding with Emperor's Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk with a shade of Winds to boot. So, a particularly heady brew of metallic elements then - how well have they pulled it off?
Well, it's pleasant to report that this is a rather potent cocktail of metallic influences, intoxicating both in it's impact and complexity. A range of vocal styles are used, from a quiet groaning to an early-Soilwork scream, incorporating some fine melodic clean vocals too. Keyboards are omnipresent throughout, but thankfully they are skilfully utilised, with simple piano melodies acting as a fitting counterpoint to heavy-ass riffage, or choral synths filling out the sound during the more black metal-esque passages.
Unfortunately, the shifts in musical style throughout the album are more in the league of Enslaved than Opeth's masterful, seamless blending - the tempo changes and shifts from heavy to more introspective passages can occasionally seem somewhat forced, and the songwriting in general suffers from a lack of excellence in the heaviness department. The clean singing, piano melodies, clean guitars and more gothicall-oriented songs and passages are of the highest standard, but the aggressive sections, while competently written, are somewhat lacking in comparison.
Still, though, this is an impressively unique take on mixing up different styles of metal, and bolstered by a good, spacious production and eloquent lyricism, should find itself on many of the more discerning metalhead's stereos.
7.5
Mysterium's Official Website
Prophecy Productions Website
