Mystic Prophecy
Savage Souls

The German Mystic Prophecy arrives at their fourth platter after undergoing several changes. They lost guitarist Gus G. along the way, who chose to dedicate himself exclusively to Firewind, and the group recruited Marcus Pohl (from Symphorce) and Martin Grimm (formerly with Headstone Epitaph) as replacements. Drummer Dennis Ekdahl also left, being already very busy with Raise Hell, and thus made way for Matthias Straub from Sacred Steel.

The label changes too: with the support of Nuclear Blast lost, it's now Massacre offering a new chance to this band that so far has delivered albums with solid construction suitable for some good headbanging, but struggled to make a mark due to songwriting lacking peaks, certainly full of power but not always impactful in the melodic aspect.

In this new "Savage Souls," the power is still abundant; the group offers 11 tracks consistently defined by a robust power/thrash with strong American inspiration, with Iced Earth and Metal Church as the main points of reference. A fundamentally flawless writing yet continues to show limitations in terms of variety and melodic effectiveness, although some episodes manage to hold their own well, as can be seen in the strength of the refrain in the opener "Shadows Beyond My Soul," in the successful melodies of "Master Of Sins" and "Best Days Of My Life," as well as in the concluding power-ballad "Into The Fire." On the other hand, the undeniable impact of songs such as "Evil Empires," "Sins And Sorrows," "Nightmares Of Demon" is not enough to leave a significant mark in the listener's ears.

And it's a pity, because the resources are certainly not lacking, both in terms of the instrumentalists and the production taken care of by vocalist R.D. Liapakis in partnership with Fredrik Nordström who handled the mixing. "Savage Souls" therefore does not alter the musical conception of Mystic Prophecy one bit, as they continue to offer their robust power-metal. Ultimately, an honest genre piece that will certainly not change the band's status, neither negatively nor positively.