Mydra: Mydra

You may be asking yourself, what sort of name is Mydra? Well it is the sort of name a band comes up with when a record label decides that their current moniker isn't "hip enough"... So after two albums as Charon, Mydra was the name that the band came up with (after Hydra and Midas Touch were refused by then label Phonogram). All of this took place back in the dying days of the 80's, by which time this, the first of three albums that Mydra went on to release, had already been in the can for a good few months.

Coming out of Hamburg, Germany, you'd be forgiven for presuming that Mydra would have a touch of Scorpions or Accept about them, but instead this self titled effort feels more like a Scandie/Germanic album, with a melodic hard rock mixture of biting guitars and sumptuous keyboards landing somewhere between Treat and other German counterparts Demon Drive, or even Bonfire. Having been polished up by reissue specialists Yesterock for this release, the results are a CD that sounds good, but in a way that suggests a classy demo, rather than a fully fledged album (although not having heard the original release, I can't comment on whether this is an improvement or not...). However if you can get past that, the songs are of a standard that suggests Mydra were onto something. With the benefit of hindsight, they may not be offering up much in the way of innovation, however put in the context that the songs on offer here are some 25 years old, and this album was slap bang in the middle of what was considered "happening" at the time. The riffs on the likes of "Love Killer" or the instrumental "Fireball" (which is trying desperately hard to be "Fallen Angel" by Coney Hatch, but with added (unneeded) over the top licks and fills) are pretty cool and interesting, however Mydra were more convincing when they were throwing out hook-happy party anthems like "Light Up The Sky" and "Double Dealer".

For aficionados of 80's melodic rock, Mydra is manna from heaven and while, in truth, the results fall quite a way short of the price tag that vinyl versions of this title have sold for on ebay and the like, there's no denying that it holds a certain charm. Phonogram may have been wide of the mark on their choice of band name, but whoever was running A&R for them at the time could at least spot a melodic rock act well worth a deal. Shame they forgot to promote the damn thing afterwards...

Track Listing
1. I've Got The Power
2. Freeway Blues
3. She's No Lover
4. California
5. Love Killer
6. Light Up The Sky
7. Cold Blooded
8. Fireball
9. Double Dealer
10. Gone With The Wind
11. You're The Only One

Added: May 19th 2012
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Yesterrock Records
Hits: 1921
Language: english

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