MitseiN – I Find My Way
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
Nobody suspects a Brazilian metal band behind the German-speaking band name MitseiN (to be with). And yet it is so. The band was founded in 2016 by guitarist Jeff Oliveira and singer Cristienne Graciano. The first songs were obviously earlier compositions by Jeff, which go back to 2003. At that time, he was part of a band project called Dark Over (until 2007). The lineup was completed one year later. Work in the rehearsal room started. Various influences flow into the compositions, power, thrash, death, symphonic metal. Bands like Pantera, Sepultura, Angra, Evanescence, Nightwish, Roxette, Arch Enemy and many more are named as role models. In April the album debut “I Will Find My Way” is due to be released. With this mixture of different musical styles, I was naturally curious about the end product.
A symphonic metal album without an intro? Yes there is. Even the opener “Revenge” rocks straight ahead. Symphonic bombast? Opera singing? Wrong! Sure, singer Cristienne Graciano doesn’t have the typical rock voice. Her singing moves in the mezzo-soprano. There are also riffs and sophisticated guitar solos. And a powerful drum kit. The solid bass line ensures sufficiently deep tones. Tones. The title track “I’ll find my way” then starts with strings and elven-like vocals. But only briefly. Melodic hooks and calm riffs accompany the vocals here. You can quickly sing along to the catchy chorus. With the guitar solo, the song picks up some speed. And Cristienne shows that she can sing the high notes cleanly. But “Reborn” sounds a bit rockier. But without leaving the mid-tempo range. Every now and then there are thrashy-sounding guitar parts where the tempo picks up a little again. In “The Voices” believed at first to hear a ballad. But that’s just the start of a song that has a slight death edge with subtle growls. But here, too, catchy melodies predominate. “Scars” also follow the same pattern – beautiful melodies, filigree guitar solos, pleasant-sounding vocals. But there is nothing really new to hear. The bouncer “Fighter” is the fastest song on the album. In places, the guitars sound a bit like Speed Metal. Here you can hear subtle growls again.
With “I Will Find My Way”, the Brazilians have made an honorable debut album. The individual songs are mainly in the mid-tempo range. Occasionally trips to speed, death and power metal can be heard. However, there are hardly a harsher sound as one would expect from references such as Sepultura, Pantera or Arch Enemy. This means that the musical styles used are manageable. With them, they obviously do what they do best. Catchy, mostly danceable rock music. But they do it pretty well. I would like to see more variety in the future.
Mitsein – Scars: https://youtu.be/cs2qLlc_WRM
Lineup:
Cristienne Graciano – Lead Vocals
Jeff Oliveira – Lead / Rhythm Guitars
Josa Chris – Lead / Rhythm Guitars
André Oliveira – Bass Guitar
Aquiles Lima – Drums
Label: MCK Comercial e Serviços LTDA
Out: April 1st, 2020
Playing time: 28:35
Track list:
- Revenge
- I’ll Find My Way
- Reborn
- The Voices
- Scars
- Fighter
Rating : 7.5/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
