Misty Route - 2021 - Without A Trace [mini-review]

(54:30; Bitume Prods)

Greek band Misty Route released the album "Without A Trace" back in 2021, with the album given a label reissue now in the fall of 2023, and this is a production that might find interest also among a progressive rock interested audience. The band is promoted as existing inside of an alternative metal tradition, which is probably the most correct definition to give the landscapes explored here. The majority of the songs do exist within a constant ebb and flow movement however, seguing back and forth between gentler, light toned and dreamladen landscapes and sections defined and dominated by more powerful riffs with a distinct metal touch. The former tend to be elegant affairs, with a bit of a psychedelic touch at times, while the latter alternates between the more staccato barrages from the alternative metal tradition and a few different incarnations of a more traditional heavy metal expression. Similarities in form and function to a band like Riverside are noticeable here, although with Misty Route's material being a bit more straight forward in nature than what the Polish masters have conjured over the years. And it is for fans of bands like Riverside I suspect this album might find its appeal inside of a progressive rock context too: If you believe that music with some similar qualities in mood, atmosphere and approach but executed in a bit more of a straight forward manner might intrigue you, then this is an album that should be worth investigating.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, November 2023

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/MistyRoute
https://www.facebook.com/bitumeprods