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Mustasch: Above all

16/02/10 || Trauma

The brainchild of a man named Ralf with a fascination of facial hair growth sported by such manly men as Freddie Mercury and David Byron, Mustasch at first glance don’t exactly sport mustaches, themselves. Ralf Gyllenhammer has himself a large fluffy mohawk. I first caught wind of this band in a recent Audio Autopsy and checked out the venerable Youtube to see if these guys had any other music and I saw two videos, one of which was from this album.

I really have a hard time saying what hooked me. This stuff is just catchy. Extremely simple, but I find myself addicted to the simplicity. I mean this in the best possible way. Look at AC/DC. They write some of the simplest music around, but it works and is more badass that some of the most complicated technical death metal (but then again, what isn’t?). “Down in black” is the opener, and seems the most out of place song on the album. You can tell it’s the single from the album (ignoring the fact they made a video for it) because it’s got a different sound to it, production-wise and writing-wise. I like it, but the album immediately after delves into the fuzzier and heavier side of things. Fuzz box, neck pickup, muddy sound. It has a lot in common with the stoner rock genre minus the stoner thing.

So, “Above all” proper I guess begins with “I hunt alone”. These guys play in Drop D tuning down a whole step, so when put through as much fuzz and distortion as they can their riffs sound heavier than they are complex. That’s all an advantage. Getting the most out of fairly simple arrangements and riffs is no small feat, but Mustasch I think delivers. “Muddy waters” is a perfect example. There’s three distinct guitar parts and then a lead break somewhere in between. It’s also my favorite song because it’s so simple and effective.

Yet another factor to bring this band up is Ralf’s unique vocals. He’s got a good voice, if a bit different. I’ll take a quote from my sister: “It doesn’t sound like he’s trying to sing well, he just does.” Whether or not she is spot on is not my call since I already am biased towards liking his voice, but I will agree. Blood and all. Not to give Ralf all the spotlight, I’ve got to say some good things about the bass and drumming. The drumming is pretty tasteful and varied throughout, and he pulls out some nice touches when he has to do so. The bass is there and audible with sometimes snaking lines poking through the distortion frequently. It’s overall good stuff.

Back to the album, the further in this gets the more you begin to hear eerily familiar sounds. The one I hear most is Soundgarden. It’s like I could easily imagine a couple of these songs having been songs by said band, or at least some of the riffs. Though, I don’t have so much faith in Mr. Cornell anymore like I do now with Mr. Gyllenhammer. As far as lyrics go, they are insightful and pretty relatable (for fuck’s sake, that’s not a word?) to life but I so clearly can tell this man is not a native English speaker by the choices of words. The English is all fine, he just uses some odd choices is all.

My real gripe with this album is that it can feel like it’s dragging on occasionally, but that’s the nature of the style they are tackling here. When you take into account this being their first LP, it’s just not that shabby.

8,5

Information
Released: 2002
Label: Regain
Website: www.mustasch.com
Band
Ralf Gyllenhammer: vocals, guitar
Hannes Hansson: guitar
Mats Johansson: bass
Mats Hansson: drums

Tracklist
01. Down in black
02. I hunt alone
03. Into the arena
04. Muddy waters
05. Ocean song – trust
06. Sympathy for destruction
07. Teenage pacifier
08. Insanity walls
09. White magic
10. The dagger

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