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Mustasch: Sounds Like Hell Looks Like Heaven

(Melodic) Heavy Rock

5.0/5.0

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Metalville Records
by Craig Hartranft,  02.14.2013

First we need to play catch up, since this is my first experience with Mustasch. This crew Sweden have been going strong for 15 years racking up some solid credentials while rocking out clubs and festivals with their melodic heavy rock.

Mustasch:: on all four of them.

Mustasch has had sold-out tours of Scandinavia, but also opening and headline tours with Motörhead, Gluecifer and cult-band Rose Tattoo in Europe. They've been nominated for Swedish Grammys three times, winning in 2008 for Metal Album of the Year. Now they're back with their seventh long player, Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven. (The album was released last year in Sweden by Regain Records, but now gets an international push from Germany's Metalville Records.)

Caught some where between hard rock and heavy metal would describe Mustasch's music; call it heavy rock to simplify things. Yet, though there is significant weight to their rock, these guys still bring nice melody and large catchy hooks to their groove. You get this from the start with Speed Metal, then becomes even larger and more infectious in It's Never Too Late, Cold Heart Mother Son, and Your Father Must Be Proud of You. Fundamentally, that rock and roll groove permeates most every song. Other notable tunes are Morning Star, the closest thing to a ballad, and a heavy one at that, and the straight heavy rock, nearing doom rock, of Dead Again. That latter song, along with the closing outro, may be the weakest links here. However, it doesn't distract from the whole. Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven is still a terrific melodic heavy rock album. Strongly recommended.

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Mustasch's Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven is a terrific melodic heavy rock album with strong melody and large infectious hooks. Strongly recommended.

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Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]