ALBUM REVIEW: Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia – Mystifier
During the 1990s, MYSTIFIER were one of the heavy weights in the Brazilian extreme metal scene, releasing the widely acclaimed cult classics Wicca, Göetia and The World Is So Good That Who Made It Doesn’t Live Here between 1992 and 1996. However, following their 2001 offering Profanus the band seemed to fizzle out, playing rarely and releasing only the occasional box set or compilation. But their absence from the scene ends in 2019. Now, 18 years after their last studio offering, MYSTIFIER are back with their Season Of Mist debut, Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia – but does this mark the return of the much missed legend, or does their fifth record tarnish what was a glorious legacy?
Though Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia doesn’t immediately launch itself to the jugular in its ferocity, it’s opening title track wastes no time establishing the sinister atmosphere MYSTIFIER maintain throughout the entirety of the album. Slow, ominous riffing and ritualistic drum patterns allow the vocals to take focus as Do’Urden shifts between throaty, death metal orientated growls and blackened shrieks, and although things never quite reach the level of aural savagery expected from black metal, the doomy, ominous tempo never becomes boring. The Anubian hymn Weighing Heart Ceremony follows, leading in with a warm bassline and croaking vocals, before MYSTIFIER ramp up the intensity, driving forward furiously while subtle flourishes and lead guitar lines display the importance of multiple listens, often passing the listener by on the first few spins. The seamless dancing between high octane, evisceratingly traditional black metal and slower, doomier passages works incredibly well, and becomes an oft-used addition to MYSTIFIER‘s arsenal.
MYSTIFIER bring the first side of Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia to a triumphant close with two of the album’s strongest offerings – Akhenaton (Son Mighty Sun) and Six Towers Of Belial’s Path. Swinging between ear-worm riffs that carry a confident swagger and a tremolo-ish chorus, the opening three-and-a-half minutes of Akhenaton (Sun Mighty Sun) drives forward as one of Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia‘s simpler tracks, but that only serves to make the spoken-word, organ-like synth conclusion all the more effective. Six Towers Of Belial’s Path delivers an utterly crushing assault of blackened death metal, crammed with more hooks than a black metal band has any right to and some of the strongest riffing on the record.
Diving into Side B of Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia, Soultrap Sorcery Of Vengeance opens with a doomy riff that Toni Iommi would be proud of, and a monstrous growl before ramping into KRISIUN-esque levels of brutality, complete with one of the catchiest choruses on the record. MYSTIFIER use a bassy stop-start riff to build up to something even more chaotic, before sliding into a wonderfully doom-drenched passage that features some dazzling lead work. A bluesy, beautiful solo and enchanting synths draw Soultrap Sorcery Of Vengeance to a close, and cement it as a guaranteed live favourite. Opening with almost a minute of gunfire, Al Nakba (666 Days Of War) makes up for its slow start by being absolutely visceral in it’s execution for the remainder of the track. With a step towards a more death metal orientated style, MYSTIFIER show their wide pool of talent with this late-album highlight, moving seamlessly between a vicious, to-the-jugular assault and hypnotic, doomier riffs with ease,.
Rest assured, with Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia MYSTIFIER maintain their incredible legacy as Brazil’s premier black metal outfit. Whether Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia will develop the same cult-classic nature as Wicca and Göetia is a question only the passage of time will answer, but in the meantime rejoice in the fact that MYSTIFIER‘s recording hibernation is no more, and that the Brazilian trio have unleashed one of the strongest black metal albums thus far in 2019.
Rating: 8/10
Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia is set for release March 8th via Season Of Mist Underground Activists.
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