Mustasch
Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven

Full disclosure: I have never listened to a second of Mustasch until this album fell into my lap. I had heard of them, of course, but they always seemed to fly under my own musical radar. On one hand this is a bit crummy because that means I spent the last decade or so not jamming to their albums. On the other hand, it’s actually good because now they are a “new” band to me and I can scoop up their back catalogue.

If you couldn’t tell, I dig Mustasch and their latest full-length Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven. Right from the start the music radiates from the speaker in classic rock/metal form, the kind that is best to crank up while putting back a few beers with the boys. “Speed Metal” is a raucous little number, a speedy passage that sets up the mood for what will transpire over the next 35 minutes.

“It’s Never Too Late”, “Your Father Must be Proud of You” and “I Don’t Hate You” all flaunt their muscles as each ebbs and flows the way great hard rock/metal should. Catchy riffs, memorable choruses, and a perfect “live” sound comprise virtually every minute of every song, resulting in an album that unfortunately seems to end too soon.

A ton of thought went into SLH, LLH and it just sounds like the Swedes have the time of their lives when performing, though it’s most evident on album highlight “The Challenger.” With supremely infectious rhythms and a kickass main riff, it’s got “instant classic” written all over it, one that will assuredly slay in the live setting. The song is so finely constructed it can easily be a radio hit. The same can be said about “It’s Never Too Late” as well, but since there’s no auto tuning, rapping, or the same sentence repeated over and over, that’s unlikely to happen.

Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Hell is a splendid album. It’s heavy enough to kick some ass, but it’s not even close to anything resembling black or death metal. There aren’t any added studio dynamics to make shitty songs seem better. There aren’t any dizzying musical arrangements. There aren’t any mirrors, though there likely is a ton of smoke. There’s nothing cheap about this album; it’s just a meat and potatoes kickass slab of metal & roll.

[Visit the band's website]
Written by Mike Sloan
June 10th, 2013

Comments

  1. Commented by: Nick Taxidermy

    this band is kind of awesome.


Leave a Reply

Privacy notice: When you submit a comment, your creditentials, message and IP address will be logged. A cookie will also be created on your browser with your chosen name and email, so that you do not need to type them again to post a new comment. All post and details will also go through an automatic spam check via Akismet's servers and need to be manually approved (so don't wonder about the delay). We purge our logs from your meta-data at frequent intervals.

  • Mythbegotten - Tales from the Unseelie Court
  • Worm Shepherd - Hunger
  • Chained to the Dead - Only Hunger Remains EP
  • Entheos - An End to Everything EP
  • Trollwar - Tales From the Frozen Wastes EP
  • Gigan - Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus
  • Whispering Void - At the Sound of the Heart
  • Human Harvest - Void of the Vile
  • Defeated Sanity - Chronicles of Lunacy
  • A Scar For the Wicked - Acolythus
  • Sentient Horror - In Service of the Dead
  • Earthburner - Permanent Dawn
  • Carnosus - Wormtales
  • Loudblast - Altering Fates and Destinies
  • Deivos - Apophenia