Mefisto
The Megalomania Puzzle

A puzzle for the megalomaniac, that sounds like something. This is the third Swedish band in a row, though this band is not really active anymore since they disbanded back in 1987 after two demos. There was a compilation of their two demos released in 1999 called The Truth which contained the same eight tracks that we find on this new compilation which is said to feature some cool liner notes from a notable norwegian metal writer and members of the band. Typical cover artwork of the eighties extreme metal. Think of Slayer and their peers. They are said to be one of the earlier extreme metal bands from Sweden, and the label states that their music is still fresh and relevant. The label is definitely lying.

It does not sound fresh and relevant to this date, it sounds a bit dated. Sure it sounds fresh for its years and it must have sounded very fresh and relevant back in the day but they still never managed to break through and after two demos it was finished. But as an album of that time it works quite well, the songs work well together and the variation is decent, surely an album for the nostalgic, the one who think the extreme metal was better back in that day. Thrash/speed metal is probably the best description of this kind of music, kind of like it sounded back in the mid-eighties but perhaps with a hint of more fresh production.

Well, it is not really bad or anything, it is just that I have a hard time seeing the relevancy of an album like this. I mean it has already been released, this is the third time all these tracks are being released. Why should it be more relevant now than the former times? Better promotion? better coverage? I don’t know but I highly doubt that the visibility will be better this time considering how much they are up against. As I stated earlier in the paragraph, it is a pretty decent album but it sounds dated and this kind of music we have already heard before and it is difficult to see that it offers anything of value to today’s musical market.

I think however, that we can describe this album as one for those into the older speed/thrash metal, those who do not desire all new musical things to break new ground. Fans of nostalgic speed/thrash metal can rejoice, you who thought it was better in the past this is for you. Then again, if the past was so much better, why didn’t this band break through big time, they are certainly better than guys like Slayer, Sodom or whatever else they are called. If that would have happened they could have made some real ground and still be making good relevant music because they are amongst the best speed/thrash metal of that era that I have heard. So, maybe not really my cup of tea as I do not like to look backwards, but the nostalgic speed metaller will have a moment of joy with it.

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