Mystras are a solo project from Greece that has had music reviewed before in this zine and on this recording plays a medieval form of black metal and this is a review of his 2021 album "Empires Vanquished And Dismantled" which will be released in November as a joint effort between I, Voidhanger Records and Steller Ausitorium Prod.
Folk instruments and acoustic guitars start off the album and also gives the recording more of a medieval feeling which also mixes in with the heavier sections of the songs at times. When the music speeds up a great amount of tremolo picking and blast beats can also b e heard which also gives the tracks more of a raw feeling.
Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams while the songs also add in a decent mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts. Melodies are also added into some of the guitar riffing along with a great portion of the tracks also being very long and epic in length and all of the musical instruments also have a very powerful sound to them.
When guitar solos and leads are utilized they are also done in a very melodic yet chaotic style along with some spoken word parts also being used on a few songs. Some tracks are also instrumental as well as the music also adding in touches of Turkish, Persian and Arabic folk music at times which also gives the recording more of an exotic atmosphere, clear vocals are also added on some of the tracks and female vocals can also be heard briefly. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Medieval Imperialisms, Historic Crusades and Colonization's of The European People ranging from the 12th to 15th Century.
In my opinion this is another great sounding album from Mystras and if you are a fan of medieval black metal, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "On The Promises Of Angels" "To The Builders!" and "In The Company of Heretics". 8 out of 10.
https://youtu.be/GO187-9aTSo
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