Greek guitar god Gus G. has contributed his mighty skills to a wide variety of metal acts such as Dream Evil, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Firewind, and now Ozzy Osbourne. Vengeance happens to be the 2001 debut of his band Mystic Prophecy, a potent power metal/thrash outfit also featuring lead vocalist Roberto Dimitri Liapakis, bassist Martin Albrecht, and drummer Dennis Ekdahl. Though the guitarist would later leave Mystic Prophecy in 2005 after their Never Ending album to devote himself full-time to Firewind, he leaves behind some sizzling platters of molten power metal on the first three Mystic Prophecy releases.
Vengeance is perhaps not quite as polished as either Never Ending or the sophomore release Regressus, but it's a raw, heavy affair nontheless. Very similar in style to early Iced Earth or Primal Fear, the music of Mystic Prophecy features plenty of bone-crunching guitar riffs, virtuoso guitar solos, pounding rhythms, and the powerful vocals of Liapakis. There's no shortage of strong tracks on Vengeance, including headbangers like "Welcome in the Damned Circle", "Sky's Burning", the soaring "Dark Side of the Moon", the bashing "River of Hate", and the bruising epic "Fallen Angel", alongside more melodic numbers such as "In the Mirror" and "When Shadows Fall". Though there's a sprinking of keyboards on a few tracks, for the most part this is a full-on display of the guitar chops of Gus G., who is quite adept at laying down crunchy riffs and explosive leads.
Though the band would really come into their own on the follow-up Regressus, Vengeance is still a very solid debut of heavy, at times thrashy power metal. No gimmicks here, no silly fantasty lyrics or speedy double bass drum wankery, just solid, powerful metal. Metal Mind Productions' remaster job sounds great, and as usual it's all housed in a charming digipack with the complete artwork, lyrics, and an essay on the band.
Track Listing
1. 1545 - The Beginning
2. Sky's Burning
3. Damnation and Darkness
4. Welcome in the Damned Circle
5. Dark Side of the Moon
6. River of Hate
7. In the Mirror
8. In the Distance
9. When Shadows Fall
10. Fallen Angel
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