Friday, February 01, 2013

MYSTERY BLUE - Conquer The World

Mystery Blue is a band that exists since the early 80's, comes from France, and this is their latest release. I started listening to the music in the usual way, sneaking around bios, and surfing the Internet for more info, while the music plays in the background, but soon after the first notes, everything else stopped,and I concentrated on listening. The band is playing a mixture of Classic and Power Metal, a genre so worn that might spoil any fun from the first moment, if only they weren't so good to turn cliches to advantages. First let's say that the singer is female, and if I can add, she has the guts and the skills to be in that position. Forget the operatic stuff, her vocals are old fashioned, harsh enough, and fit perfectly with the style of the music. She has the ability to shift easily from powerful singing to more melodic with the same quality. Along with the vocals comes the guitar works, of Frenzy Philippon, the only founding member of the band, and one hell of a guitar player. Either being riffs, solos, or everything in between, Frenzy is so good at it, creating some of the catchiest guitar works, which is one of the bid advantages of this album. The same high quality of musicianship we also find in the rhythm section, give a listen to what Vince plays on drums, or the bass lines of new comer Matt, and the result is an album that you listen over and over, without getting boring or repetitive. The arrangements are good, with enough variety, from high octane grooves that will make you move your head with the rhythm, to ballads where things slow down and melody takes the leading role. If you want your Metal groovy, melodic, uplifting, and catchy, with often references to the past, then this is definitely a band you should check.  

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