If I was to put together a list of all the bands that I have been meaning to check out for quite a long time now, the German trio Mystic Circle would hold a predominant position in it. Having first appeared back in 1992, these noisy Germans have won a reputation for being one of the loudest and most extreme Black Metal acts in the music business, so it was totally understandable why people I knew were urging me to check out some of the band's first efforts, such as "Drachenblut" and "Infernal Satanic Verses".

The new millennium found the band signing a contract with Massacre records, with the help of whom they recorded two studio albums ("The Great Beast", "Damien") and a compilation with the quite fitting title "Mystic Circle Unholy Chronicles 1992-2004", before they mutually decided to part ways. With their ten year old recording experience, Mystic Circle became a "target" of many labels, but it was Piet Sielck's Dockyard 1 records that won the bid and the responsibility to release the band's 7th full-length album "The Bloody Path Of God".

Judging by the provocative name, and the equally brutal album cover, I expected nothing less than a head on collision with thundery blastbeats, speeding guitar riffs and purely Satanic lyrics, and even though some of these requirements were met (to a certain extend) this twelve track release slightly took me by surprise. You see, apart from the obvious references to early Black Metal and bands like Bathory which I expected to find, Mystic Circle have incorporated in their music quite a few elements from the modern Swedish Thrash/Death Metal scene, something that I only became really comfortable with, having first given this album a few good spins.

Sinister keyboard melodies like the ones in the intro "Psalm Of The End" can be found in large quantities throughout the album, but their role is simply to add to the general atmosphere of compositions, all of which are based on heavy guitar riffs that move in a variety of different speeds and rhythmical patterns. Whereas the band's past is reincarnated in songs like "Doomsday Prophecy" and "Unholy Terror", there are many modern "touches" in the slightly more "commercial" songs, such as "Hellborn" and "Nine Plagues Of Egypt", which will probably appeal to a slightly different audience. Still, one very admirable thing that characterises this album is its ability to sound quite coherent and well balanced. My only main objection is in the band's decision to add a very generic and bad sounding cover version of the Celtic Frost classic "Circle Of The Tyrants" - an attempt that was quite unsuccessful, as far as I'm concerned.

So now that I have finally managed to become introduced to Mystic Circle's music, what is my impression of the band? Well, without considering this to be a life changing experience, I do believe that this German trio has many good things to offer. "The Bloody Path Of God", is an album that I will gladly put again on my CD player, but I really cannot say how often this will happen in the near future.

***½

Review by John Stefanis