By adding their own modern twist to the exalted genre of New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Christian Mistress has started to make a name for themselves. Interestingly they are from Washington State. Where many bands tend to sound as though they are doing covers when tackling the genre, Christian Mistress actually pull it off. The band’s latest release, To Your Death is their first for Relapse Records.

Album opener ‘Neon’ starts everything off very strong. It is a classic headbanger that channels late 70s and early 80s bands such as Judas Priest and Paul Di’Anno era Iron Maiden. This is due in equal parts to Christine Davis’s vocals and the work of guitarists’ Oscar Scarbel and Tim Diedrich. Scarbel and Dietrich seamlessly reproduce the twin guitar sound the genre is famous for. Davis’s style appears to be modeled on other famous female singers of that era such as Doro Pesch. Hearing a collaboration between the two is something to remain hopeful for. These traits remain throughout the album with some variation.

One song that best nails the mood of the album is ‘No Place’. It is a tune that any audience can rock out to and chant along with. Likewise, ‘Ultimate Freedom’ is an empowering anthem that would not have been out of place during the heyday of NWOBHM. Although the songs conjure up memories of when metal was king, they also carry a promise to revive the genre. The album comes to an end with the killer guitar riffage of ‘III’; one cannot help but start the whole thing over again.

9.0/10

MELISSA CAMPBELL