The Indictment

In the late 80s and early 90s, when thrash was enjoying it's final golden years, there seemed to be an outburst of bands and albums that focused more on the technicality and progressive structures rather than the vicious intensity that thrash was more well known for. Watchtower's Control And Resistance, Toxik's Think This and Realm's Suiciety are some notable examples. However, there were a few bands who accomplished to merge both the new tight progressive sound without compromising the intensity which the old school bands had perfected. Mystrez's Indictment has to be the cream of the crop in this specific style.

Not only is this album technical and progressive, it's also very bizarre. Even though if we dissect the riffs to their very core, due to little changes like using the high open strings in the middle of a certain riff, they manage to sound uniquely unusual. In general, the riffs are rather dark. And even though this is in essence a progressive album, there are almost no slow paced riffs to be found. The riffs are extremely infectious and are a blast to listen to. The gallops, chugs, small melodic lines are all elegantly done. The solos are just as dark as the riffs are. There is a constant trade off between an aggressive state and a more slower, melodic mode state within the solos.

The vocalist definitely adds to the unorthodox feel of the album. Unlike a lot of other vocalists for tech/prog bands at the time, he doesn't mainly provide a classic metal influenced high pitched sound, even though he does execute a little bit of it. He primarily exercises a harsh, unsettling tone which is unlike anything I've heard before. He sings, he screams, he growls, he even talks which might sound awkward at first listen but after a while you realize that it fits in perfectly. His vocal patterns are also strange. He'll stop singing at the most unexpected of moments, he'll scream randomly, he might even drop a few lyrics when the guitar solos are going on. None of this is a bad thing as it adds to the weird feel of the album.

Considering how many riff changes there are in a song, it's hard to believe that the songs flow so seamlessly. I think this is because of the constant frantic pace of the album. The drummer sounds very hyper and the abundance of his beats can only be compared to the amount of riffs in the album. His fills are very aggressive and the drumming never sounds monotonous. The bassist doesn't make himself too apparent, which is a little unfortunate. However, when he does, he gives out some impressive bass lines and licks. The production has a bit of a raw garage-y sound, but everything is heard clearly.

This album a priceless gem. It's quite unique with it's 'out there' feel. The guitars attack precisely, the drums strike flawlessly and the vocalist is very diverse with his onslaught of aggression. It's hard to comprehend how the band made the album sound so outlandish and peculiar without using any instrument other than the traditional ones (i.e guitar, bass, drums). The Indictment is truly an outstanding, magnificent and hair raising effort.