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MYSTIC PROPHECY “In Metal”
MYSTIC PROPHECY “In Metal”
By Dr. Abner Mality
I’ve been a champion of MYSTIC PROPHECY for more than 20 years. I’ve always been a fan of their rough-edged and heavy brand of power metal and especially their great vocalist, R.D. Liapakis. That’s why I’m rather disturbed by “In Metal”, because for the first time, the band has made some changes which I think are less than favorable.
First off, they are still a metal band…they better be, when the album is called “In Metal”. But a lot of MYSTIC PROPHECY’s rough edges have been smoothed off here. The production is much shinier and clean and the emphasis on melody is much more pronounced. In itself, that’s not a bad thing, but I’m not sure it works here. Keyboards are more prominent and that really is a switch. The band is not an AOR outfit…yet…but now they seem to be more standard European power metal than the gritty, almost thrashy entity they were before.
The songwriting seems subtly off from the start, as “Robots” starts the album with staccato riffs and goes into a very simplified tune at marching speed. R.D. Liapakis still has his great “smoky” sounding vocals and that keeps this album from sinking, but the vocal lines here are not all that clever. Not only that, but two other songs…”When The Hammer Falls” and “Devil’s Son”...start with EXACTLY the same staccato riff as “Robots”. That’s on the lazy side.
The title track is also more polished and melodic and not anything that stands out. The album finally hits its stride with “Don’t Run Away”, which is a great combination of the tried and true MYSTIC PROPHECY sound with a bigger emphasis on melody. R.D. is outstanding on this track. The next two tracks, “Warhead” and “Angels Are Falling”, are the M.P. we know and love, metal with aggression and speed.
Of the remaining cuts, nothing is really bad, but also not that outstanding. The last song “Warriors of Asgard” should have been the first track instead of the lackluster“Robots”.
This band has put out quality for so long, it’s noticeable when there is a drop. And even saying that, “In Metal” is not a bad album. There are 3 new members alongside veterans Markus Pohl and R.D. and maybe that has something to do with it. They tried something a bit different here and it didn’t work as well. I still look forward to more from MYSTIC PROPHECY and would love to see them perform in the States some day.
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