Released by Unicorn Digital
Released On : June 1, 2010
Genre: Neo Progressive Rock
Links: www.unicorndigital.com/mystery
Line Up:
– Benoît David / vocals
– Michel St-Père / electric & acoustic guitars, bass & keyboards
– Steve Gagné / drums
– Patrick Bourque / bass
Guests:
– Daryl Stuermer / guitar
– Oliver Wakeman / keyboards
– John Jowitt / bass
– Antoine Fafard /
– Claire Vezina / vocals
– Richard Lanthier /
Tracklist:
1. Among the Living
2. Wolf
3. Between Love and Hate
4. Till the Truth Comes Out
5. Kameleon Man
6. i) Through Different Eyes – When Sorrow turns to Pain
7. ii)Apocalyptic Visions of Paradise
8. iii)So Far Away
9. iv)The Point of No Return
10. v)The Silent Scream
11. vi) Dancing with Butterflies
12. One Among the Living
13. The Falling Man
14. Sailing on a Wing
The musical hierarchy of Mystery can be linked back to 1986 when this Canadian Progressive Rock unit came into existence. The band released their first full length self titled album to considerable success in the scene. What’s a mystery is why the band went such a long time between records from 1998 all the way to 2007? You never really know with prog bands, such is the case with bands like Shadow Gallery who usually take a good 4 years to release new material, although in their case is usually pretty darn impressive work. With this in mind I wondered if the new release from Mystery was going to offer something special.
The band relies heavily on atmospheric and sound melodies with a careful craftsmanship for detail as the slow buildup of the keyboards embellishes the very prominent bass and rhythm section. Lead singer Benoit David in some spots has a similar voice to Geddy Lee from the Prog legends Rush. The resounding moody entanglement of “Between Love and Hate” stand out instantly with a melodic solo lead to add a forceful attention and capturing nostalgia to this professionally played tune. One of the hard rockers cuts comes in “Kameleon Man” with an edgier progress and a more pristine emphasis on the writing. Now epic lengthier tracks are prototypical for progressive rock releases, but I was not prepare to swallow down “Through Different Eyes” clocking in at just over 22 minutes of more catchy induce emotional melodies then you can bargain for. The lyrical concept on this epic is quite serious and it has it’s moments of bleak and hopelessness but in the end the band paints a picture of one’s soul transcending through the beyond and they take you on a trip themselves which ultimately leads to hope, very interesting stuff.
Even though Mystery has it’s own sound, and they have managed to evolve into a more neo-prog band now, moving away from it’s AOR elements of past releases, influences vary here from Saga, IQ to Rush. Make no mistake though these guys are no clones of anybody, they are skilled musicians and with the pragmatic voice of Benoit David adding a certain feel to these songs, you mesh the cunning guitar playing of Michel St-Père and you have yourself some very diverse but notable music. For the progressive rock aficionados this is a must have release, as it makes strong case as one of the best prog rock albums of the year.
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 8/10
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