Christian Mistress | ‘Possession’

It’s an insidious little fucker, this new Christian Mistress album.

Expecting to be grabbed by the throat in the way their early 7″  and ‘Agony & Opium’ had done, I was eager to get stuck into “Possession” as soon as it showed up in the review box.

I was very keen to see if their move to Relapse would result in their rough edges being scrubbed away or if they could make the leap to a bigger label unscathed.

So when the first listen was finished, I was relieved they’d maintained their identity without any unnecessary polish being added. But I was also distinctly underwhelmed with the end result.

In fact looking at my notes again from that first listen a few weeks back, I notice for four of the songs, I have “meh” scrawled next to them. And after a couple more listens, one of those “Haunted Hunted” is still the track I find myself skipping. But multiple listens down the line, “Possession” reveals itself to be a fine record, if a little pedestrian in places.

“There is Nowhere”, the seventh track on here (and my current favourite), pretty much sums up what Christian Mistress do best on this album – they produce well written, and most importantly well balanced heavy metal.

In this track they move from a quiet, brooding opening, gradually introducing those heavier dual guitars and building up a full head of steam for the latter half. It’s easier to be subtle on a semi-ballad like this for sure, and I’m using it as the most obvious example, but overall, this band know how to structure a song for maximum impact.

And they’re as adept in their more considered moments like this as they are producing full speed ahead rockers like the almost-thrash “All Abandon” or the all guns blazing opener “Over and Over”. These two songs are again among the best here, and highlight another of this band’s strongest characteristics – their ability to write traditional heavy metal that wears its’ influences proudly, but doesn’t sound dated or backward looking in any way.