Mustasch – Latest Version of The Truth

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Regain Records
Produced by Tobias Lindell

Melodic rock/metal is doing rather well in Sweden at the moment, and Mustasch are gaining quite a following as they progress with this, their fourth full-length album and its lead single Double Nature.

Having come to the end of their contract with EMI in Sweden, Mustasch decided to attempt to spread their music and appeal further afield. They began by self-releasing a new EP, Parasite!, throughout Scandinavia in 2006. The EP did quite well in the region and helped them secure a worldwide record deal with Regain Records, for whom Latest Version of The Truth is their first release.

Describing Moustasch’s sound is difficult. At times vocalist/guitarist Ralf Gyllenhammar can sound like JB (Grand Magus/Spiritual Beggars), Michael Poulsen (Volbeat) and Ian Astbury (The Cult). And at times none of them. The most similar band in terms of sound is possibly Gotthard, although Mustasch’s riffs tend to be heavier and their equally-hooky choruses more aggressive.

There are in fact a lot of different styles and sounds on this album, making it a non-stop interesting listen. I Wanna Be Love, for instance, sounds like The Cult through the verses, then the chorus crashes in with the album’s heaviest riff. Half-way through the mood changes, as the drums, riffing and vocals in turn become more aggressive. The closest we get to a power ballad is Bring Me Everyone, which is acoustic in the verses, but has an expansive, powerful and heavy chorus. Then the use of strings on Double Nature, Forever Begins Today and progressive closer The End produce the albums highlights.

The anthemic, driving heaviness of bands like Volbeat characterise tracks like Falling Down (with hints of JB in the chorus) and Double Nature, but the use of strings on the latter add wonderful highlights in between the massive choruses and the short but searing solo. It’s no wonder it’s spent eight weeks and counting on the Swedish charts. The same happens on Forever Begins Today, but this is a much more mature and less anthemic track. Scyphozoa is an all-strings instrumental which leads into more Cult-isms on Spreading The Word and I’m Not Aggressive is a more hooky, slightly softer rocker.

This is how people used to make rock albums. Instead of making ten or twelve tracks in the same style, they’d make a proper album with variation and new musical challenges. You can’t listen to a Led Zeppelin album and honestly say “every track sounds the same”, and you can’t do that with Latest Version of The Truth. Maybe other countries will catch on soon.

“ a non-stop interesting listen ”

Tracklist: In The Night / Double Nature / Falling Down / The Heckler / I Wanna Be Loved / Scyphozoa / Spreading The Worst / Bring Me Everyone / Forever Begins Today / I Am Not Aggressive / The End

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, Mustasch