Another early entry in the European heavy metal brigade, French act Mystery Blue originally hit the scene in 1978 – releasing a series of demos and two albums during the 1980s before fading away in 1989. Returning to the scene in the mid-90s, only guitarist Frenzy Philippon remains from those original days. The ninth studio album Night Demon illustrates a sound that continues to parade a classic, traditional metal template with soaring, dramatic vocal lines, catchy/pounding rhythms, as well as solid, in the pocket tempos with the right fluctuation for speedy or transitional elevation of excitement.
Foundational components like anthem-style power chords carry the hook workload, as a slower, marching composition like the title track contains instant appeal qualities – allowing the bass / drum passages of Julien Ted Weibel and Vince Koehler to shine in the verses as Nathalie Geyer drives her vocal melodies to heights normally reserved for seasoned veterans like Ronnie James Dio or Rob Halford (check out the glass shattering final note of the song). Powerful “Painkiller”-esque drumming gets “Pandemic Metal Virus” off to a resounding start, the riffs tasty while the pace shifts across fist banging to conventional metal landscapes – the guitar work between Francis and fellow guitarist Erik Lothaire delightful, especially when building out the dual harmony licks. Although “Where Metal Rules” seems to open as a tranquil, piano-oriented ballad, once again the quintet shift gears into more of a mid-tempo Accept arrangement, the lyrics depicting the social chemistry, beer imbibing, and friendships built enjoy heavy metal at our favorite clubs live.
“Undertakers” is tough as steel – the supplementary guest vocal support of Andreas Babuschkin perfect next to Nathalie’s multi-octave projection as the music becomes one titanic force to crush listeners under its sonic avalanche. Beyond the twelve original tracks, the record ends with Mystery Blue taking on another Accept staple in “Restless and Wild” – the vocal snarl and gallop-oriented main riff still in place, but unfortunately the lack of strong backing vocals renders their version a few steps below the potency that the original executes. Another drawback for consistent playback lies in the production realm. There are times where the drum tone has a bit more of that digital / typewriter-like presence that flattens the impact of certain songs, where this scribe feels that maybe a more on the floor, natural vibe could have been beneficial to the final sound.
Mystery Blue possess a lot of the tools necessary to captivate followers of traditional heavy metal – you just wish the consistency, and tenacity, would reach a touch higher on Night Demon than they achieve. Ardent old-timers will don their leather or battle-vest denim and enjoy this most.