MYSTIC CHARM - Shadows Of The Unknown CD

Includes their 1992 demo.

Mystic Charm is a Dutch band that plays an astounding blend of doom and death metal. The band is unique in many ways, number one being, a female does the sick vocals. Moreover, im not talking your average Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Evanesence female voice, this is a demonic growl that seems to come from hell itself.

The album consists of nine tracks of solid doom/death metal. The title track, “Mystic Charms” has a combination of acoustic and electric guitars that compliment themselves in a rythem that is both melancholic and slow, but over whelmingly evil sounding. As soon as the vocals start, it amazes me to think that this voice is coming from a female.

Songs like “Window of Reality” and “Crushed Virginity” have a very Celtic Frost sound to them. My personal favorite track of the album is “Lost Empire”, one of the slower songs of the record, what is unique about the track is that in the middle of the song, there is a brief moment where the growling vocals give way to the vocalists “clean voice” and it is truly beautiful. It instantly elevates the songs to another dimension, an angelic whisper that seems to just barely be there.

An extremely addictive album that does not disappoint at any given moment, for some reason the death metal parts of the album, reminded me a lot of Obituary, double bass blasts included. If you can get your hands on this by all means get it, you will not be disappointed.