Christian Mistress – To Your Death
Release Date: September 18, 2015
Label: Relapse Records
A new Christian Mistress album was something that for a little while I feared may never happen. After the overwhelming success of 2012’s Possession, Christian Mistress took a little bit of time off to collect their thoughts, sort out some amicable line-up changes, and re-group to write their next masterpiece. The result is To Your Death and I have to say that this album is nothing less than absolutely stunning.
The album opens with “Neon” which totally reminds me of classic 80’s hard rock such as W.A.S.P and/or Dokken. Before you pick up something to throw at me I actually think this is a good thing because right out of the gates Christian Mistress caught me by surprise. The 2nd track, “Stronger than Blood” is a song of epic proportions that sounds more akin to the material from their previous albums but with a bit more discipline, maturity and growth.
The absolute masterpiece of this album is “Ultimate Freedom.” Clocking in at 6 minutes, “Ultimate Freedom” is such a passionate, moving piece. Christine Davis feels and connects with every word that passes her lips while the band lays down some of the most interesting pieces of music I have heard in ages. In my opinion, this is the song that encapsulates everything that this band is about. “Lone Wild” is another epic song that floored me and had me feeling the feels big time. Much like with “Ultimate Freedom”, the vocal and musical performance of this song just tugged at my emotions and really had me feeling.
To Your Death is chockfull of great songwriting, more dual guitar harmonies than you can shake a Flying V at, and some of Christine Davis’ greatest vocal work. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes with 8 songs, Christian Mistress truly gets that less really is more (sorry, Yngwie). By the time the album was over, it left me wanting more and even sent me back for another listen. That right there my friends is when you know that an album is truly magnificent. What I love the most about To Your Death is that this is the album Christian Mistress wanted to make. This is the album that they needed to make and as a fan, this is the album I needed to hear.
With To Your Death, Christian Mistress took their own path and made an album that didn’t conform to the expectations of anyone. That right there is why I love Christian Mistress so fucking much and why I am so proud to be a fan of this band. They are a band of integrity, fire, passion, and perseverance. To Your Death is a heavy metal masterpiece for the ages. Christian Mistress knows no boundaries and with To Your Death they have proved that they are a band that is in it for the long haul.
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