THE MYSTERY – Apocalypse 666

The Mystery is a female-fronted German Power Metal band that was founded back in 1996 by guitarist Alex Thunder Martin. They released their first full-length album independently in 2002, and their latest effort Apocalypse 666 is the band’s fifth studio album. The Mystery’s trademark has always been producing a very standard blend of Maiden/Priest-inspired Classic Power Metal, but with the added twist of female lead vocals. This formula has worked very well for them over the years as all their previous albums are of exceptional musical quality. Apocalypse 666 should be no different, however, with the addition of a brand new vocalist to the mix; this album doesn’t quite pair up to its predecessors.

The Mystery’s new vocalist is Iris Boanta. She is most famous for being the singer of an all-girls AC/DC tribute band called Black Thunder Ladies. Although more of a novelty act than serious artist, the band does manage to produce an eye-catching show. Boanta now has to make the leap into a serious singing role with a fair amount of passion and emotion, something which she has not harnessed quite well.

Boanta’s vocal ability is extremely well-suited for singing AC/DC songs, as she literally sounds like a female Brian Johnson. Her singing style is extraordinarily rough, and there is a serious lack of range and dynamics as well. Unfortunately, this style of singing does not work with the Maiden-like qualities of The Mystery’s music.

Materially, the compositions on Apocalypse 666 are all very well-written and performed with outstanding musicianship. The opening title track “Apocalypse 666” begins the album with fast and furious power riffs like something from the Judas Priest Painkiller album. Then the wailing vocals enter from Boanta and it becomes very clear that she cannot even come close to keeping up with the fierce melodies. This continues track after track on the album — great songs ruined by subpar vocal talents.

However, there is one song of note in which some credit must be given to Boanta for carrying the track quite well. “In Heaven Or Hell” is a Ronnie James Dio tribute song and one of the few mid-tempo songs on the album. During this track, Boanta steps out of her AC/DC box and actually sings with a passionate and soulful lower tone. Surprisingly, she is able to hit much higher notes while singing at this level. This proves that Boanta does have great natural ability as a lead vocalist; however, she simply cannot sustain the compositions from The Mystery to match her talent.

Apocalypse 666 is filled with great, classic twin guitar Power Metal tracks. What it needs is a vocalist that can hit some very high notes with passion and fury. This formula just doesn’t work, and it’s a great shame as it just wastes some very good songs.