Mystfall
Celestial Vision
Scarlet Records
Out: July 21st, 2023
Playing time: 42:03
Information about the Greek Symphonic Metal band Mystfall is scarce. Founded probably in 2022, the debut album “Celestial Vision” will be released in July 2023. Not much. So, I can go into the review of the album completely without any worries.
“Resisting Heaven” is an overlong intro, as is usual in this genre. But instead of sound games, you hear pleasant melody leads with Epic choruses here. It can be done, but with a length of a little more than two minutes? That’s something everyone has to decide for themselves. The title track “Celestial Vision” is of a completely different quality. After a short piano introduction, the whole epic bombast hits you. Epic choruses can also be heard here. And the singer sings in the highest notes. Fortunately, however, these are offered very cleanly sung. Of course, the interplay of “Beauty and the Beast” must not be missing. So, Kostas Mexis contributes evil growls. In “Centuries”, the epic bombast comes a bit more to the fore. “Endless” lets the tempo increase a little, the riffs fry. The melodies dominate. And once again, Marialena’s soprano sits enthroned above it all. The ballad “Silence” sets a point of rest. The singer is accompanied by piano and (synth) strings. And the singing is pleasantly a little deeper. “Kings of Utopia” then lapses back into Melodic Metal, partly mixed with Pop. The calm midtempo song “Moral Compass” increases the bombast part again. “The Balance Of Time” is characterised by hard riffs and opulent orchestration. Occasional rhythm, melody and volume changes give the song a slight progressive edge, sometimes a ballad, sometimes a Symphonic Metal hymn. The last song, “Freedom Path”, is again classic Symphonic Metal, like many of their genre colleagues play. Only the filigree guitar solo provides some variety.
“Celestial Vision” is a solid debut album. But it unfortunately does not stand out too much from other albums of this genre. And even a beautiful voice, like Marialena Trikoglou’s, and good musicians are no guarantee for a convincing result. Sure, the sound is well mixed and comes punchy out of the speakers. But the songwriting is not varied enough in my opinion. There is certainly still a long way to go before they can compete with genre greats.
Mystfall – Celestial Vision (Official Video): https://youtu.be/AlcBJRNL4kQ
Lineup:
Marialena Trikoglou – Vocals
Kostas Mexis – Vocals
Panagiotis Leontaritis – Guitar
Dida Racotoarison – Keyboards
Antonis Desousis – Bass
Manos Agouridis – Drums
Track list:
- Resisting Heaven
- Celestial Vision
- Centuries
- Endless
- Silence
- Kings Of Utopia
- Moral Compass
- The Balance Of Time
- Freedom Path
Rating:
Overall Rating : 7/10
