Christian Mistress – Agony & Opium (2010)

After receiving “Ganjahovahdosed” from The White Mice last October, we can’t really know what to expect from the label 20 Buck Spin. This month we got an equally cool, but completely different release with Christian Mistress “Agony & Opium”, the band’s long-awaited debut album. Featuring 6 hard rocking Heavy Metal tracks, you will surely be blown away by the band’s effectiveness in creating catchy and powerful melodies.

Coming from Olympia, Washington (also the label’s headquarters), Christian Mistress is surely set to take the American Heavy Metal by surprise with their guitar driven songs. The bands dueling guitarists do an awesome job in crafting the perfect back bone for Christine Davis raspy vocals. With less than 30 minutes of music the band makes a great introductory statement with this brilliant release.

Since the opening track “Riding on the Edges” the band quickly establishes a powerful pace that you only find in older and more experienced bands. The riffing is excellent throughout this album, but the solos will surely blow your mind like on the songs ”Poison Path”, creating the perfect guitar sound in this shorts but sweet release.

The drumming is fairly standard, but provides an excellent tempo for the epic songs the band wrote for this album. While some parts of the songs might feel a bit familiar since they seem very similar between songs, the band’s sound is so explosive that you will find yourself ignoring this and will wish you can keep listening to Christian Mistress for ever.

Rounding up the formula we have Christine’s powerful vocals that sometimes feel a bit rough but add originality to the music. The album’s production is very basic and effective, since for this kind of ass-kicking Heavy Metal you only need things to be clear and nothing else.

If you are looking for the quintessential Heavy Metal release of 2010, look no further since “Agony & Opium” will have you mesmerized from the first minute you listen to this album. The band’s sound while old-school, it’s fresh enough to keep the listener engaged as you play this album over and over for a few hours straight.

Release: August 24th, 2010

Country: USA