Customer Reviews

Mystic Places

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1997's Mystic Places is the second full-length release from German traditional/power metal band Avalon. The band is obviously influenced by their countrymen Helloween and Gamma Ray, but their sound, while still melodic, is noticeably heavier than your average power metal band.

Mystic Places is the final Avalon album to feature vocalist Many Sturner, whose muscular vocal presence recalls Mike Lee (of Barren Cross). His voice adds hints of Dio and Iron Maiden to the band's workmanlike power metal sound. There's really nothing here you haven't heard before, but Mystic Places does have a few gems. "Passion for Glory" is probably the album's best track, but the Rainbow-esque "Prisoner of My Mind" and epic "Time of the Universe" also stand out. On the flip-side, there are no fewer than three throwaway atmospheric instrumental tracks that add absolutely nothing to the album.

Mystic Places is a totally solid European power metal album, but it's nowhere near the same league as the average Gamma Ray, Brainstorm, Iron Savior or Blind Guardian release. If you're really into European power metal and are looking to try out some of the lesser-known bands, you could do a lot worse than to give Avalon a shot. I can't give them a much stronger recommendation than that, though.

Avalon is an interesting entry into the Euro metal pantheon. Rather than go for a singer who squeels like someone is grabbing his groin in a most unfriendly way, Avalon has a singer who actually belts out with some power, though little holding of notes, like a Chris Cornell for example. Many Sturner was out of the band on their subsequent releases but here he does a good job of keeping Avalon out of the power metal camp and more towards plain kicking butt.

Musically this is somewhat formulaic, we get regret and sorrow and epic feelings etc. So far so good. What lets the release down a little however is the fact that much of it doesn't grab the listener. My fave rages on this would have to be track 2 (and the first with vocals - yep, this is Euro product so you get a 'mood setting' instrumenal bit first up) and this track is called I'm Falling. Passion for Glory rolls along nicely straight after but personally, it all is a little stock standard until the visceral Wasted Time. Funnily enough Skid Row did a track called Wasted Time - utterly different tunes, but both capable of taking the listener to forbidding dark thoughts.

Fans of Euro metal will probably get an interesting listen out of this album as it does stand somewhat apart from the run of the mill power metal products out there. Especially if you've always craved a vocals with more grunt in your power metal bands (grunt as in timbre - not grunt as in grunted vocals a la death metal etc).