MYSTIC FORCE

"Mystic Force" is a cassette tape demo release by US power metal act Mystic Force. It´s a self-released affair, featuring 4 tracks and a full playing time of 16:29 minutes. The Baltimore, Maryland based act were formed in 1983 and released a couple of demos and EPs before releasing their debut full-length studio album "Shipwrecked with the Wicked" in 1990. This demo is their first release. The tracks from the demo are also featured on the "Take Command - The Demo Years (1990)" compilation (on vinyl) along with the tracks from the "Take Command (1989)" EP.

The music on the demo is US power metal with high pitched clean vocals, edgy heavy metal/semi- thrashy riffing, shredding melodic guitar solos and a powerful pounding rythm section. Early albums by artists like Queensrÿche, Fates Warning and Heir Apparent are valid references. The progressive elements that the band would incorporate to their music later in their career are not present on this demo. The tracks are very well written, memorable and delivered with great conviction. The sound production is professional and powerful. It´s not obvious that this is a demo recording. Considering that this demo was released in 1987, quite a few studio releases from those days feature a sound production that don´t match this one.

This is not just a promising first release, this is a great release in it´s own right and could well have been released as an EP instead of a demo. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.