Mean Streak Metal Slave
by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer
Impeccable instrumental virtuosity redeems this Swedish quintet’s occasional overuse of the old power metal cliché, but by the time the album ends you can’t escape the feeling that you’ve heard it all before. Manipulations of the old standards come easy to Mean Streak, but courage and desire to experiment are yet to be developed.
Racing, self-assured rhythm section, vocalist Andy La Guerin’s operatic pretentions, neckbreak speed at which lead guitar delivers its virtuosic leads, and sleek, neatly prepared hooks introduce this record for what it is from the word go, and this streamlined metal-meets-Euro-pop routine will continue for the rest of the album.
Compositionally it’s all very simple, maybe too simple, but standout guitar solos on occasion surprise you with sheer force of conviction, skill, and imagination. Where the songwriting falls short, the solos are there to lift the proceedings from their flat cycles. “Rock City” is one such highlight – a cool but simple song in need of individuality, but the guitar leads are a different bag of goods – daring, varicoloured, and surprisingly inventive.
To sum it all up, brilliant execution is Mean Steak’s obviously clear forte, but what will come next after they exhaust the songwriting clichés of the genre they deal in, is another story.
Band:
Andy La Guerin – vocals
Peter Anderson – bass
Jonas Kallsback – drums
Yngve Frank – guitar
Track listing:
1. Whom the Gods Love Die Young
2. Battle Within
3. Eyes of a Stranger
4. The Seventh Sin
5. Raise Your Hands
6. Rock City
7. Sin City Lights
8. Carved in Stone
9. Metal Slave
10. Sinners and Saints
Online: www.myspace.com/meanstreaksweden
Label: Black Lodge / Sound Pollution
Genre: power metal, melodic rock
Hardrock Haven rating: 6/10