-- Mr. Myst gets shredded --
13/06/2018
Stijn Daneels
A week before Wildfest 2018 (April 21,2018) I attended Metalworksfest in
Kuurne and one of my personal highlights of that festival was to see the
flamboyant sleaze rock band Mr. Myst in action! The band’s extravagant looks
and attitude really made them stand out compared to the more serious bands on
that event’s lineup like Poseydon or Marche Funèbre. So one week later, during
Wildfest, I sat together with Atticus Myst and his boys to discuss the band’s
love for visual flair and lighthearted amusement, their awesome cover of a
classic Elton John song and Lethal Injury’s Joshua Pylyser standing in as Mr.
P.
Pictures by Jo De Boeck from Liveacts Belgium. Final picture made by Mike De Coene.
BMS: I start off by saying that I really enjoyed your show tonight as well as last week’s at Metalworksfest in Kuurne. It was energetic, colorful and overall pretty memorable and you, Atticus, can play some damn good guitar!
Atticus Myst:
Thanks a lot, man! You know, we love to give the audience a visual spectacle
when we’re on stage. So we’ve got flags, ravishing hair and jackets, slapstick
and even confetti, which we weren’t allowed to use today, unfortunately.
Mr. JSD: We
did get a huge help today from our friend Josha Pylyser, who plays in thrash
metal band Lethal Injury! He stood in as our bassist for this gig since our
regular bass player, Mr. Demolition, couldn’t show up because of unforeseen
circumstances. So we contacted Josha who immediately decided to join in! Now
he’s known as Mr. P!
Mr. P: It
was a pleasure playing here today as part of the Myst team!
BMS: Tell me, your band is basically a huge throwback to the hard, glam and sleaze rock 1980s made by the likes of Guns N Roses, Mötley Crüe and Skid Row.
Atticus Myst:
Indeed! Me and the guys love 80’s hard rock because of how catchy, youthful and
larger-than-life it sounds, looks and feels. Listening to that music is like
watching a superhero movie! Bombastic and light-hearted entertainment!
Mr. JSD:
And let’s not forget the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere that’s
throbbing through that music, baby!
Atticus
Myst: Oh hell yeah! But we also noticed that modern rock music is so dark and
brooding. There are so many bands writing songs about how the world is an awful
place with corruption, anarchy and other contemporary evils! Sure, life isn’t
always sunshine and rainbows but we’re just a fun loving band and we want to
share that fun with our fans and everyone else!
Mr. JSD:
That’s also the reason why we add so many visual flair to our gigs. We don’t
want to be just another band who stands there playing some music. We want to
provide a spectacle to both the eyes and the ears!
BMS: I agree and I can certainly enjoy bands that keep it light and simple! I myself enjoy 1980s pop culture a lot as well, especially movies and video games!
Mr. JSD:
Yeah! Explosive action movies starring actors like Schwarzenegger, Stallone,
Norris and Van Damme! Games like Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros, and so much more!
BMS: What are your future plans?
Atticus
Myst: We’re currently working on a new music video for Stand Up, the opening
track of our freshly released EP Red Light District (you can check it out at the end of this article) and this summer we start
writing for our new album.
Mr. JSD: That’s
right! We even got permission from some copyright officials from the USA to
include our cover of the Elton John classic I’m Still Standing on the Red Light
District EP! We’re beyond thankful for that chance and recognition!
BMS: Yeah, you guys have made a damn good cover of that track. It’s a lot heavier and sleazier and I like it a lot!
Atticus
Myst: Thanks! We specifically wanted to cover track which style isn’t very
similar compared to what we play and write. Usually when bands do covers they
choose tracks from bands from the same subgenre. Like thrash metal bands
covering Slayer or symphonic metal bands covering Nightwish. No, we like Elton
John’s music and his music is different yet has a familiar feel to our own
material.
Mr.
Pervert: In the early days of the band the guys did covers from acts like Steel
Panther, but after I joined in we thought of covering more unusual songs.
Mr. JSD:
Speaking of music videos, if it were up to us, we would’ve made a music video
for every single track of our EP, yes, five unique videos! Like we said
earlier, we’re both music and video fanatics so we want our music videos to be
like mini-movies! Professionally shot and with several actors!
BMS: And any other plans?
Atticus
Myst: We’re planning to do a tour through France and Spain this fall. Currently
we’ve done shows in the Netherlands, Germany and of course here in Belgium! We
already played on festivals like Zandrock, Evil Or Die Fest and Metalworksfest.
It was great playing on those larger stages because that way we were able to
add even more visual bells and whistles to our show.
BMS: Speaking of bells and whistles, what elements would you want to add to your gigs if you could have unlimited money and resources?
Mr. JSD: It
would be great if we could change the setting depending on what song we’re
playing. Like when we play Jessica we could put on stage a woman in a coffin,
like in the music video. Or when we play Red Light District we could let some
pole dancers come in and do a little show n’ striptease! And pyrotechnics! Lots
of it!
BMS: I think that would look great! So, what other things do you guys aside from jamming in this band?
Mr. JSD: I
also sing in a classic rock tribute band called Rock Circus. It’s a good way to
maintain my vocals and earn some cash to fund my other music projects like Mr.
Myst but also the steampunk industrial doom metal band Psychogeneration, in
which I also do vocals.
BMS: Ah, I remember seeing a few Psychogeneration gigs back in 2016 and I thought you looked a bit familiar when I saw you as Mr. Myst’s frontman.
Mr. JSD:
Well, it’s a whole different ball-game, but it’s still a lot of fun. Especially
in Germany where people really dig dark, industrial rock music.
Atticus
Myst: I recently joined the legendary Ostrogoth as one of their new guitarists.
I’m very proud to be part of such an iconic and long-lasting metal band and I look
forward to playing my first gigs with Mario “Grizzly” Pauwels and his fellow
tribesmen. And I make a living selling bathrooms and keeping my condo nice and
clean!
Mr.
Pervert: I’m tired, euh, retarded, euh, retired, haha! I work as a journalist
for rock and metal webzine AMPED.UP. I’ve also written articles for Rock
Tribune for ten years. And I also enjoy doing sports.
Mr. P: As
you know already, I play bass for Lethal Injury, a thrash death metal band from
Ostend, where Mr. Myst is also located. Lethal Injury is going to release its
first full length album in September so be sure to check it out!
BMS: Oh yeah, I will! So, I’m done here, is there anything else you wish to add to this shredding?
Atticus
Myst: I’m very thankful for tonight’s show and audience! For Joshua “Mr. P” to
come with us and stand in for Mr. Demolition and for you to drink a beer with
us!
Mr. P: The
pleasure’s all mine! And it was great seeing you again, Metal Shredder!
Mr. Pervert:
Me and the guys are damn happy to get your support! It’s great to see
open-minded people like you that shred all kinds of underground rock and metal!
Mr. JSD:
I’ve got nothing else to add, let’s go take the picture!
Mr. Myst - Stand Up