Heavy Maytal- Savage Master/ Mystic Storm : "The Power / Wandering Time"

 

This split mini-album from these two bands is set firmly in the days of yesteryear. Savage Master is no stranger to us here, as I really enjoyed the last album, "Dark & Dangerous," that found them moving in a darker direction, but it will be my first time checking out Mystic Storm. Savage Master's first track is more anchored in rock n roll and high on high energy. "The Last Kiss" is similarly paced, though with a marginally darker mood. There are some more deliberate passages. 'The Power finds them locked in a more midtempo headbanging chug that is not unlike Accept or the Scorpions. The pace picks up on the chorus. The songs are all very compactly arranged; they do not break any new ground, though they might lean in a more rock direction. 

Russian band Mystic Storm starts off the first of their three songs with spooky ambiance before, going into 80s worshipping proto thrash lead by what might be considering King Diamond like  falsetto wailing if it was not coming from a woman which makes it a blended register soprano jump, since it's easier for a woman's vocal chords to flip over into this . I like the melodic guitar passages injected in their. I might actually like them better than what Savage Master was doing as it's darker in a more Mercyful Fate direction. The title track to their contributions has a more deliberate menace,. It does slowly build into more of a gallop the time the vocals come in. I am also picking up an old Scorpions influence. 

The last song from these guys "Into the Abyss" has a more Maiden like harmony guitar run, with a very 80s palm muted riff driving the verses. The chorus being darker and more melodic. The melodies she uses a more darkly powerful than what we heard from the more rock approach Savage Master used. It is kinda of weird to rate an album like this but the best way to think of it is that I would give Savage Master's songs a 9as they were a well composed representation of what they do as a band, even though it's a snap shot of them moving in a more rock direction, they did this in a manner that is true to who they are. With that said Mystic Storm's three songs would get a 9.5 as they made we want to search out their other music and dive deeper into who they are. This drops on  Shadow Kingdom June 24th. 

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