A blast from the past! That’s what you can call this CDemo from this Dutch doom-death band. Originally formed in the end of 1989, they went the way of an underground (metal) band. Released a demo in 1992 (which sold over 500 copies), were picked up by a record label and released a single (Lost Empire/Endless Sickness) that received excellent reviews in the Dutch media but also in the rest of the world. This led to the release of the highly acclaimed “Shadows of the Unknown” CD that was released in March 1994.

Mystic Charm’s music was an original mixture of the doom/melodic part of Black Sabbath and Trouble and the heavy parts of Obituary and Celtic Frost. The most ear-catching thing about Mystic Charm was their female singer who sounded like John Tardy’s dead father. Still nowadays there are a lot of people who think Mystic Charm had a male singer… Well, what the hell happened you might ask? As seen so very often, a female band member raises the hormone levels and the menage a trois between the singer, guitar player and drummer meant the end for the band.

But now they are back!?! It seems hell did freeze over for some of the guys and today Herwig Schuiling (guitar) and Gerlach Timmer (bass) are the original band members that survived. They teamed up with some local musicians and recorded a couple of new songs in the Vision Sound Engineering studio in Heino (NL).

The vocals were done by Rein from Seraphique whose voice and singing performance perfectly matches to Mystic Charm’s music. The awesome drumming was taken care for by Hans from Dead Head (yes, he can slow down). After a short intro (Hell did freeze over), the CD bursts into Black Emptyness and Silent Desolation. Both songs have slow/fast parts and that special antique feeling but with a sound that stands firmly in the new millennium. “The tragedy unfolds” starts with a spooky intro part (featuring Egbert from Philosopher) and has all the elements typical for the old Mystic Charm. If the ode to Mystic Charm’s major influences (Mystic Purple/Deep charm) would not have been in-between “The tragedy unfolds“ and the two tracks from the single (Endless sickness and Lost Empire) you probably wouldn’t notice the difference at first. Although these recordings are from almost a decade ago, they still sound remarkably fresh and have not lost their strength.

Does Mystic Charm stands a chance in today’s world of nu-metal and electronically engineered music? I think it does, there will always be a market for this kind of music with roots and fine musical skills. Visit their web site and/or order a copy of this CDemo for DFL 10/DEM 10/USD 5 at: Mystic Charm, Pr. Bernardstr. 67, 8141EL, Heino, The Netherlands.