Review by Felix on April 3, 2020.

One can love Mystic Prophecy and one can hate the band. One can even say that their old-fashioned heavy / power metal is meaningless. But everybody who denies their integrity is a goddamn liar. (No, Felix, you are wrong. Get a copy of their recently published cover album and you know that you better start the review anew.) Okay, that's right, but now I want to go on with this review and therefore I modify: Mystic Prophecy were an absolutely reliable crew unless they released their newest (so-called) monuments. (Want a quick buck? Wish you good luck!) Fireangel - already this wonderful name speaks for itself - continues the line of their previous albums: pure steel, vigorously performed, not innovative, but gripping and sometimes really exciting.

The band prefers conventional song patterns and the affinity of the musicians for tradition gives them the order to concentrate on strong and catchy choruses. 'To the Devil I Pray' is a prime example. Melodic, mid-paced and crowned by a dramatic chorus. No surprise, the lead vocals are very good again and the guitars combine robustness with a smooth flow. The lyrics are pretty stereotyped ("the priest will kill again" - the core competency of this profession) and that's no big news as well, but the heavy-metal-prototype-voice of Liapakis is able to sell us the biggest nonsense as great art. This guy makes the difference. He sounds expressive, powerful and charismatic, a perfect vocalist for this kind of metal, and he benefits from the excellent production. Masculine and slightly frightening background vocals support him during the absolute highlight, 'Demon's Crown'. The song reveals an enormous depth and the chorus explains the irresistible might of metal in a matter of seconds. There are not many bands in this genre that are able to write such a hookline - and to implement it successfully. But the experienced gang of Mystic Prophecy does not show any technical deficiencies. Nevertheless, the album does not only consist of highlights.

Maybe it is just a matter of personal taste, but sometimes the band crosses the borderline to pop music. In spite of the general heaviness of this song, the chorus of 'Father Save Me' sounds pretty light and this does not constitute a perfect match with the rather desperate lyrics. Even the relatively dark beginning of the title track does not prevent that its chorus emphasizes the melodic side of the formation. However, this song reveals its force in a mighty way and the same applies for a comparatively harsh track like 'Death Under Control'. For sure, Mystic Prophecy combine fat guitars with a rather unusual number of harmonious elements, but generally speaking, they do it cleverly. Too bad that the guys run out of ideas at the end of the album. It is no coincidence that 'Gods of War' hails from a very late position and the same applies for 'Revolution Evil'. Just like the closer, these tracks pass by without doing any harm and that's the best what can be said about them. The heck with it! Fireangel is a pretty good album from a band that goes its way while giving their supporters what they want.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by JD on November 25, 2012.

With a name like Last Beautiful June on an album I was going to be reviewing I was expecting some sort of Prog Rock/Metal band with some very strange ambiance going on in its musical shell. Fuck was I wrong!! This German band I think picked the wrong moniker for its act.

Post Punk meets Screamo/Mathcore with shadings of Metal tagged into the whole thing. LBJ seems to be a hastily conceived patchwork of different extremes of music that just never come together. Horrid guitar work that a first year student could do without a second thought, very predictable and dull songwriting, questionable recording practices and a singer that sounds like a chainsaw cutting through a pig. I have found a band that is pretty bad.

I listened to every last second of this album - doing it three times like I do with all albums I review - and I came up with the same thing. I wondered how this band got this far, offering up music that has no real direction, structure or sense of musicality to it, with members that seem to have no clue what they are doing. It is clusterfuck of nonsense and very badly played music.

I would rather choose to listen to ABBA for ten hours (this being my number one most hated band in the universe) than have to listen to this album one more time. Last Beautiful June needs to get into a better line of work here before real Punks and Metalheads kick their asses. Picking fly shit out of Pepper would be their best bet as a career choice, since no amount of music lessons would help.

This is my opinion... deal with it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 2
Atmosphere: 1
Production: 1
Originality: 0
Overall: 1

Rating: 1.0 out of 10