Deathmetal.be

Written by [85/100] Exo666 www.fyu.be.
Tuesday, 14 November 2006
Mystica - Carol Anne
MCD2006 - Painkiller Records

Mystica's newest effort is the MCD 'Carol Anne' - a collection of overwhelmingly solid metal, even though they've shifted a bit in style since their 'Human Mutants' album. The blackmetal component has been reduced somewhat, instead, there's an intense blend of melodic death/thrash to be found. With a rather massive and 'downtuned' sound, the songs impose a strong impression on the listener. Still, the band mostly seems to aim for a fast, melodic style; when a chunky break does pop up, the weight of the riffs is crushing (plus, it's great to hear the bass so brutally foregrounded at times). I was enraptured by the vocals on the previous release, and apart from the title track which wasn't able to fully convince me on that part, the singer again delivers magnificent work. The scream/grunt combination on "Alone In The Dark" is entirely convincing once more, the same can be said about the clean vocals in, let's say, "Waiting For The Reaper". 'Human Mutants' was a step forward from 'Blinded By My Blood', and this release can surely be considered as the next step. Not only forward, also a tad sideward, genre-wise. Great stuff!

85/100

www.painkiller.be - www.mystica-online.com