MYSTONS - Destination Death

(V.R. Label - 2016)

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Finnish duo Mystons have been milling away at it for fifteen years and dive albums -including latest output 'Destination Death' at time of writing.

 

Their style on first listen is largely unique in its conglomeration with a hard rock, pop punk and industrial hybrid hiding to attack. Mainmain, Mauri rasps his, way through the tracks with a vague Layne Stayley side while applying quite a fingerful of fetching guitar grooves although most of the time they just prefer to drive and drag at a gaunt grunge pace, slicing through the wall of noise overhead.

 

I have to be frank, in that while I'm by no means the hugest hater of the industrial fuzz layer that a lot of alternative bands fill the top of their cake with but it does drop down a cracks a little here and saturate. The good side is that just about every song mellows into a manageably smooth chorus before crumbling back into the previous mode once more, yet at the end of the listen too many of the eleven sound a bit melded into the next.

 

'Death Becomes Your Drive' is a clear exception with its brooding ballad subtlety and a delectable echo of Nickelback Quite good but the Mystons might be recommended seeing live to understand and appreciate their music best.

 

6/10

 

By Dave Attrill