Label: Metalapolis Records 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Australia's answer to Finland's Sturm Und Drang! Yep, Mystery was formed in 2010 when the guys in the band were only around 12-13 years old. Now they've reached the mature age of 15+, and their first album has been released.
When I learned that the band consists of teenagers, the first reaction was to take their age into consideration in this review and cut them some slack. I decided not to, because they're now in direct competition against any other band and it's the music that counts for most record buyers. The music on this album isn't too bad, but compared to most recent releases of the genre, Mystery aren't quite ready to rival the big guns.
I've checked out some live clips of the band, and they certainly put on a good show. If I were on a festival with them in the line-up, I'd definitely go and see them. They haven't managed to capture their energy to the record though, there's a certain cloud of sloppiness that casts a shadow on these recordings.
The band's strongest track is the uptempo "Freedom" which reminds me of German rockers Mad Max and their 80'ies material. "Nonstop To Nowhere" and "Test Of Time" have decent choruses, but I can't say I'm too thrilled of the rest of their material. And the two covers... Dio's "Stand Up And Shout" is too big a song for vocalist Rocky Ravic even though otherwise the version is ok. The Men At Work cover "Land Down Under" then... well, just imagine Accept beating the song to death! I usually like rocked-up versions of pop songs, but this just doesn't work.
The better songs of the album show that Mystery might evolve into a good hard rock band, but when it comes to the whole album, maybe it's been a case of "too much, too soon".
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