Mist – Demo 2013 – CD/DD

Mist - Demo 2013Mist are an all-female doom band from the beautiful city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. That caught my eye immediately, not only because I don’t know many Slovenian metal bands but I’ve been to their fair city a number of times, and I love it. The country is great, and their MetalDays festival is the shit. Well, it was when it was MetalCamp, I haven’t been since they changed it… Anyhoo, when you think of ‘occult doom’ and ‘female’, you’re instinctively drawn to conclusions like Blood Ceremony or The Devil’s Blood. With Mist, you couldn’t be further from the truth. These girls are refreshingly different.

Their two track demo opens with the grinding ‘Phobia’. There’s something deliciously Sabbathian about them, especially the mournful melancholy of the vocals, and the guitar leads. This is not a band who deal in flutes or any of those esoteric additions. Mist deal in heavy metal, riffing as if it were melded to their DNA. For a band who only began in 2012, to have written one song that is this accomplished is a treat. ‘Phobia’ blows most occult-doom-with-female-vocals out of the water.

The Living Dead’ is quirkier, more upbeat. It shows promise in its variety, a range that will be interesting to explore. Vocalist Nina Spruk is mesmerising; she has a powerful, soulful voice that captures the atmosphere perfectly, but doesn’t retract from the other pieces of the puzzle. It reminds me a lot of Jex Thoth, which is a major compliment since I’ve found her to be THE benchmark for female vocalists in this style.

Mist could be a staggering proposition in the coming years. They are poised to break through the 1970’s worship of recent occult doom and take us further. They have more in common with Vitus and Sabbath than Coven or Blood Ceremony. Their demo is only the beginning. With the right songs, and the right opening, Mist could be the next big thing.


Label: Self Released
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Tumblr

Scribed by: Sandy Williamson