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MYSTYC BLADE
“The Master Is Inside”
Album Review by Iron Mathew
9/10

Mystyc Blade are a heavy metal band from France formed in 2023 by multi-instrumentalist Christophe Danjon, releasing the bands debut album ‘The Master Is Inside’ in 2024…
…featuring eleven songs across a sixty four minute run time! A self taught musician, Danjon honed his skills at the Music Academy International (MAI) in Nancy (France), perfecting them by way of composing orchestral pieces of music, seizing an opportunity to open for acts like Angra and Calvin Russell, taking his career to the next level by writing ‘The Master Is Inside’ – an album that reflects inspiration from bands such as Dream Theater and Symphony X. The album gets underway in haunting fashion with the first thirty seconds to ‘Don’t Forget To Live’ setting a chilling atmosphere that quickly warms up as the iconic “metal gallop” surges forth, ‘Don’t Forget To Live’ taking on the mantle of classic sounding, traditional heavy metal. The underlying chugging rhythm is infectious and will have every listener rocking their heads back and forth and smiling from ear to ear – ‘Feel Invincible’ maintaining the heavy metal gallop, albeit at a much heavier tempo! Mystyc Blade really hit hard here, bludgeoning everyone with a bold, boisterous mix of melodic metal straight outta the heaviest end of heavy metal territory!
And picking up the pace, ‘Stay Away… Last Warning’ is a foot to the floor barrage of extreme head bang ability, every mosh pit around the world turning into a sea of frenzied head banging maniacs! The band are cruising down the autoroute here, well in excess of the speed limit, spreading joy and excitement to every metalhead everywhere, ‘Pyramids And Mystery’ opening with an epic, mysterious aura that’s gonna intrigue every listener to know how the mystery unfolds! And even though the band are French, the first two minutes has a strong Middle Eastern flavour, ‘Pyramids And Mystery’ progressing to return traditional metal to the fore, all the while retaining just a little hint of the songs opening flavour! Dropping a gear or two, ‘My Shield’ brings a mellower feel to ‘The Master Is Inside’, the band striding purposefully in the direction of balladry – but not entering it! Stopping one step short, ‘My Shield’ begins to sizzle with a hymn-like aura, along with elements of the epic and glory styles of metal bubbling away just under the surface. Feel free to raise your lighters high in the air, but for me, ‘My Shield’ is too heavy to be acknowledged as a ballad!
Buzzing guitars and a mighty anthemic foot stomp greets the listener as ‘Lies’ shudders the ground with immense force, the band striding tall and proud through territory owned by the likes of Manowar and Saxon – ‘Lies’ a bombastic barrage of power that’ll blow your fucking socks off! Pace makes a welcome return in the shape of ‘Later Is Too Late’, Mystyc Blade pressing the pedal firmly to the metal to roar off at high velocity – the increased level of head bang ability rising right through the roof! Over the course of the album so far, the band has roamed all over metal territory, visiting every corner, nook and cranny to offer every listener, fan and follower a myriad of metal styles! The variation on show is holding attentions tightly, very tightly indeed with no intention of letting go anytime soon, ‘The Master Is Inside’ taking a sharp turn in the direction of balladry once more with ‘Song Of Butterflies’. And this time the band do step over the border into ballad country, so I encourage everyone to lift lighters high and sway from side to side as the band slowly amble on! That is until the half way point when out of the blue a thunderstorm hits hard and fast, ‘Song Of Butterflies’ switching identity in the blink of an eye! There’s so much going on here – balladry and fast paced metal colliding with a progressive feel as Mystyc Blade return to the serenity of earlier as ‘Song Of Butterflies’ plays out.
And the recent emergence of progressive metal leanings remains front and centre, as ‘Turn The Page’ roars loud with all the power and oomph of melodic heavy metal, the band continuing to mix things up to keep the album alive and interesting! Engaging too, as not one single song has failed to captivate, the French outfit delivering an infectious journey that no listener is yet ready to disembark from! And featuring every style of metal in the bands vast locker, ‘Forever Alone’ rises high to become, in my opinion the signature sound of Mystyc Blade. Here you’ll find elements, hints and touches from every influence and inspiration of the bands mastermind Danjon – who by the way, performs all instruments and handles vocal duties too! Bringing the album to a close is the (albums) title song ‘The Master Is Inside’ – the longest song on offer at seven and three quarter minutes in length, ‘The Master Is Inside’ (the song) is epic, elegant and majestic with just the tiniest hint of doom metal! The swagger on show here is the stuff of grandeur, Mystyc Blade striding tall and proud with shoulders back and head held high, a sense of hypnotic power pouring outta the song to keep every listener hooked right ’til the very end!
Overall, a majestic march of heavy metal, ‘The Master Is Inside’ features a diverse and varied array of metal styles.
TRACKLIST
Don’t Forget To Live
Feel Invincible
Stay Away… Last Warning
Pyramids And Mystery
My Shield
Lies
Later Is Too Late
Song Of Butterflies
Turn The Page
Forever Alone
The Master Is Inside
https://mystycblade1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mystycblade

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