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Classic Review: Mythra - The Death & Destiny LP
Mythra
www.mythra.co.uk
The Death & Destiny LP

Label: British Steel
Year released: 1998
Duration: 43:27
Tracks: 13
Genre: Heavy Metal

Rating:
4.75/5


Review online: March 25, 2003
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.4/5 (88%) (10 Votes)
Review

The material presented here was recorded in 1979 and 1980, some of it never released before, and I have to say that there isn't much in here that sounds dated. Interestingly, the album opens on a song that could almost be in Maiden's repertoire, very reminding of very early Maiden material. It doesn't take long before this thought goes away and the Mythra sound takes over. Like a lot of NWOBHM acts, most songs here play along the border of hard rock and heavy metal - here the songs have a mid-70s classic/hard rock vibe with some more metallic ingredients mixed in there. The vocals are definitely what you'd expect from a NWOBHM band at the time, the vocal melodies are very catchy and I just can't get them out of my mind. Pretty addictive stuff to say the least. Most of the songs here are mid to fast-paced and the vocals are simply a perfect match - nothing sounds awkward or out of place here. There are some memorable songs here like "Death of a Loved One" that are very representative of the late 70s, they just don't write songs like this one anymore. There's one or two songs that sound a little bit dated but are still quite enjoyable. This is a CD that simply gets stuck in the CD player.

"Death & Destiny" was released as a 4-song EP in 1979 (there were a couple of versions, including a 7" with only 3 songs on it), and British Steel reissued this on CD in 1998, along with some other tracks found in the Guardian Records archives - songs recorded but never released, most likely due to record company politics (and a bad move that was to not release this killer stuff at the time - who knows how far the band would have gone otherwise.) My only complaint would be that the lyrics are not included, although the singing is clear enough that they're not really needed. Instead is a short band history which is pretty interesting. The original Death & Destiny EP sold some 20,000 copies in 3 weeks when it was released in the late 70s with practically no promotion - and with reason. This is some killer material that has withstood the test of time. The band now has a new album recorded, only looking for a label to release it to the masses. Definitely something I'm looking forward to. Let's just hope there's a label smart enough to pick this up.

More about Mythra...
Review: Still Burning (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Temples of Madness (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
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