The foundation
of MYSTERY BLUE dates back to 1982.
Originally founded by the guitarist FRENZY PHILIPPON, MYSTERY BLUE rather
quickly became a household name in the world of Hard Rock, as we called Metal
in those pioneering days. The band released two successful albums, the
eponymous debut long-player MYSTERY BLUE (AXE KILLER RECORDS), followed by
CIRCLE OF SHAME (DREAM RECORDS/CBS), and toured Europe with big guns such as
MOTÖRHEAD, DEF LEPPARD, SAXON, VENGEANCE, and fellow “Frenchies” H-BOMB and
SATAN JOKERS. But after the rocket propelled rise, the young band succumbed to
internal strife and disintegrated.
Seven years after, in 1996 FRENZY reformed MYSTERY BLUE, assembling what has so
far proven a mature, and reasonably stable line-up, comprising of – besides
FRENZY – the lovely and talented vocalist NATHALIE GEYER, bassist DANY OHLMANN,
and drummer VINCE KOEHLER. Shortly afterwards the band released their third
album, SPIRIT OF YOUR SONG.
MYSTERY BLUE continued touring relentlessly, honing their song-writing talents,
and generally striving for each new album to be an artistic improvement and a
decisive step forward in comparison to the previous effort. They certainly
achieved this goal with the release of METAL SLAVES (STEELHEART RECORDS) in
2004, an album that was lauded by critics and Classic-Metal aficionados alike,
and has enjoyed brisk sales. Early 2005 bass player DANY threw in the towel and
was replaced by RIKKI MANNHARD.
The rest of the year MYSTERY BLUE kept on doing what they do best and enjoy
most: touring! They shared the stage with the likes of GIRLSCHOOL, DAVID DeFEIS
(VIRGIN STEELE), ROCK BITCH, and DESTRUCTION, and were invited to play the
SWORDBROTHERS and HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR festivals, both in Germany.
In 2006 keeping with the tradition of improving each new album, MYSTERY
BLUE then journeyed into Germany, to the HOFA, to record their next album,
CLAWS OF STEEL.(MAUSOLEUM RECORDS) Leaving nothing to chance, they recruited ACHIM “AKEEM” KÖHLER to mix and master the recordings. KÖHLER, who
previously “soundscaped” aurally impressive albums by – among others – BRAINSTORM,
SACRED STEEL, PRIMAL FEAR, and SINNER, once more proved that a top mixing and
mastering engineer can make all the difference, by adding the “je ne sais quoi”
factor that turns an already great album into an extraordinarily outstanding
one. CLAWS OF STEEL delivers a fresh attitude to solid Traditional Metal.
After playing some blasting gigs with bands like PARAGON, REBELLION, WOLF, ADX,
NO RETURN, SATAN JOKERS, NIGHTMARE, and at great events like the METAL FORCES
FESTIVAL- Germany- and the TILBURG HEABANGERS FEST in Holland, MYSTERY BLUE
returns to the HOFA studios in 2009 with the same efficient team to record
their best album to date: HELL & FURY (BERNETT RECORDS).
During
2010 MYSTERY BLUE tours Europe to present their latest release on stage
with a series of concerts in France, Germany and Spain.
In January 2011, the amazing bassist Matt Gabnai from Hungary joins the
band and in summer the 4 musicians head to the Studio Solaris,
Frankfurt - Germany, to record their 7th album with the true Heavy
Metal specialist UWE LULIS (ex GRAVE DIGGER, REBELLION). The new piece
will be called CONQUER THE WORLD...
...Today True
Metal doesn’t get any better than MYSTERY BLUE. Get ready to bleed!
|
