Mystery
2013
Metalapolis Records
2013
Australian hard-rockers Mystery state that they have “combined the sound of Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P.” in their press release. Right after that they claim that (sic) “the future of hard rock is named Mystery!!!”. In what world combining three bands that were in their heyday 30 years ago is the “future”, I don’t know. They first got people talking when they released their first single “Rock ‘n Roll Forever Be” on YouTube as a tribute to Ronnie James Dio after his death. They were around 12 years old back then. When they reached 14 they started touring around the world playing with bands like Europe, Manowar, Motorhead, Megadeath and Nightwish and making young girls everywhere scream their lungs out. Now they’ve released their debut album called 2013.
I chose not to judge them as a new act because of their age. Instead, I tried to put aside the fact that, in all probability, their parents where the age they are now in the 80s, and strictly listen to their music, because that’s the bottom line.
I have never been a big fan of clear-cut revivals of older scenes, sounds and genres. I don’t see the point in just repeating a style of music that was popular so many years ago without contributing anything to it yourself. That is exactly what Mystery have done here. I’m not certain if this album would make any noise even if it was released somewhere in the 80s. I think that when you had musicians like Dokken, Sammy Hagar, Whitesnake, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, Ratt and of course Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P., this record would most probably fall into the cracks and eventually be forgotten.
But there really isn’t any reason for speculations and “what if”. The album wasn’t released in the 80s, it was released in 2013 (and apparently Mystery don’t want people to forget that fact so they named the whole album “2013”). I am aware that there has been a revival of that glam/hair metal/80s hard rock (or whatever else you want to call it) sound the past few years. But even so, I still don’t think there’s a place for Mystery in that revival. Their songs are unimaginative, generic and... well, just plain boring. The fact that the band tries so hard to achieve that “wow factor”, actually makes their music even a little bit irritating at times. I mean with childish lyrics like: “Running free/ We’re on fire/ Can’t stop me/ We’re on fire/ Living free/ We’re on fire”… I get the feeling that they haven’t really worked on their tracks all that much. Take “Land dOWNuNDER” (a Men at Work cover) for example. Now, that could have been an interesting and fun moment in the album if Mystery had bothered to do it properly. Instead, the final result is a poorly made cover that is only suitable as a funny thing someone posted on YouTube that you listen to for a minute or two and then forget five minutes later.
Even more important than the lyrics and an unfortunate cover, is the lack of a second level in these tracks. They do not unfold or have anything more to offer to the listener the second or third time one listens to them. Maybe, it’s that these guys are too young to reach inside and access their emotions in order to produce a decent song that speaks to the heart. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this 80s hard rock style they’ve got going on is just a phase that they’ll grow out of in a couple of years.
To sum up, I don’t think that anyone will miss out on anything important if they never listen to “2013” (I still can’t get over how unfortunate this name is for this particular album). Furthermore, I find Mystery no different than One Direction or Hanson (for those of you who still remember them). In my opinion, they are some clever record executive attempt to collect the money of 10-16-year-olds who identify with those kids on stage. There’s nothing wrong with that, it might even put a few 10-year-olds into the path of rock, get them interested and maybe (just maybe) one of them might become the next Dio or Ozzy, or Angus Young, or Lemmy or Jimmi Hendrix, or Kurt Cobain or John Bonham or... The next best thing in rock anyway. Who would have a problem with that?
I chose not to judge them as a new act because of their age. Instead, I tried to put aside the fact that, in all probability, their parents where the age they are now in the 80s, and strictly listen to their music, because that’s the bottom line.
I have never been a big fan of clear-cut revivals of older scenes, sounds and genres. I don’t see the point in just repeating a style of music that was popular so many years ago without contributing anything to it yourself. That is exactly what Mystery have done here. I’m not certain if this album would make any noise even if it was released somewhere in the 80s. I think that when you had musicians like Dokken, Sammy Hagar, Whitesnake, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, Ratt and of course Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P., this record would most probably fall into the cracks and eventually be forgotten.
But there really isn’t any reason for speculations and “what if”. The album wasn’t released in the 80s, it was released in 2013 (and apparently Mystery don’t want people to forget that fact so they named the whole album “2013”). I am aware that there has been a revival of that glam/hair metal/80s hard rock (or whatever else you want to call it) sound the past few years. But even so, I still don’t think there’s a place for Mystery in that revival. Their songs are unimaginative, generic and... well, just plain boring. The fact that the band tries so hard to achieve that “wow factor”, actually makes their music even a little bit irritating at times. I mean with childish lyrics like: “Running free/ We’re on fire/ Can’t stop me/ We’re on fire/ Living free/ We’re on fire”… I get the feeling that they haven’t really worked on their tracks all that much. Take “Land dOWNuNDER” (a Men at Work cover) for example. Now, that could have been an interesting and fun moment in the album if Mystery had bothered to do it properly. Instead, the final result is a poorly made cover that is only suitable as a funny thing someone posted on YouTube that you listen to for a minute or two and then forget five minutes later.
Even more important than the lyrics and an unfortunate cover, is the lack of a second level in these tracks. They do not unfold or have anything more to offer to the listener the second or third time one listens to them. Maybe, it’s that these guys are too young to reach inside and access their emotions in order to produce a decent song that speaks to the heart. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this 80s hard rock style they’ve got going on is just a phase that they’ll grow out of in a couple of years.
To sum up, I don’t think that anyone will miss out on anything important if they never listen to “2013” (I still can’t get over how unfortunate this name is for this particular album). Furthermore, I find Mystery no different than One Direction or Hanson (for those of you who still remember them). In my opinion, they are some clever record executive attempt to collect the money of 10-16-year-olds who identify with those kids on stage. There’s nothing wrong with that, it might even put a few 10-year-olds into the path of rock, get them interested and maybe (just maybe) one of them might become the next Dio or Ozzy, or Angus Young, or Lemmy or Jimmi Hendrix, or Kurt Cobain or John Bonham or... The next best thing in rock anyway. Who would have a problem with that?