Review Summary: There's a time and place, for everything.
When I was 13. All that I wanted out of life was a neck tattoo and to be in a band. Big dreams. But that dream was because of Tony Lovato. The lead singer of Mest. When we are younger we always find someone to idolize. Be it a musician, actor, actress, brother, mum, dad, wrestler – whoever it is we latch on to them. Well for some reason I had Tony Lovato – who the *** is that everyone would say – and rightly so.
Mest are a band who were kind of almost big. They were one within the wave of countless Pop Punk bands that flooded the airwaves in the early 2000’s. Some of those bands reached massive heights and have made a lasting impression. Mest almost did. With 5 albums released before their breakup in 2006 they gave it a solid crack, but why didn’t they hit it big? Maybe it had something to do with the legal trouble Tony found himself in, actually killing someone – although in self-defense. Maybe it was because they just never wrote good enough songs for the masses to gravitate towards them. So then why did I? Why did I grow an attachment to Mest that made me get MESTUP tattooed on my back as my first one? Well that answer is right here with their 2003 self-titled release.
The album opens with what was at the time, one of the most ruthless songs I had heard “Until I Met You’. The expletive ridden opening track really put me on notice. It’s fast, quick and angry all be it in a playful pop punk way but at the time to me it was the most aggressive thing I had heard (I was young and only finding my feet ok). This is what drew me to this album and band, they were angry and unhappy but still playing music that was upbeat and fun. It was perfect for my 13 year old self who was angry at my parents cause they didn’t let me stay up past 10….
The lyrics on the album reek of nostalgia to me now. Cliché lines are thrown around like nobodies business and I ate up every single one of them happily at the time and felt like each word was written just for me. ‘Chance Of A Lifetime’ the stock standard emotional acoustic track of the album WAS my lifeline and I remember every single word of that song, even to this day:
It's one chance in your lifetime
But it won't be the last time
It seems there's always the next hill to climb
And you know there's a lifetime
RIGHT IN THE FEELS YO.
Tony’s voice isn’t that great. Even for the low standard there is within the genre he isn’t that great. His got a unique voice though and it works for the most part in what he is trying to do. I like it when they dip into the ska/reggae style, it suits his voice quite nicely. Listening through you’ll hear another voice take over on a few tracks. That is guitarist Jeremiah Rangel, whose song writing and vocals really mix up the album and honestly his tracks come out as some of my favorites ‘Shell Of Myself’ being one of them. His tracks always come across as a little more ‘darker’ and ‘mature’ – if you get me?
John Feldmann is producing and for those that don’t know him I am sure you have listened to many of the songs he has worked on and Goldfinger were a fun band at one point. His influence is massive here and really adds in some nice pop sensibilities and his production is always crisp and clean. His influence can be heard mostly on the track ‘Jaded (These Years)’ featuring Benji (the better twin) Madden – who ok I really liked Good Charlotte around this time as well and this was a massive ***ing deal for me. The song is their biggest ‘hit’ to date and really is a great little pop punk tune that speaks of growing up and losing what we once had, something that hits a lot deeper now.
As a 13 year old this was everything to me. This album really got me on my way to playing music and diving into ‘heavier’ more ‘technical’ styles – Underoath being the next band that really took over. But what does the now 35 year old me think of this? Well it takes me back to a time when really I had nothing to complain about. It makes me remember what it was like getting home and just hanging with my mates and not having to worry about much of anything. Its not the best music, its not even close. But to me there is only a couple of more life changing albums then this one, and say what you will – many have in the past – I have no regrets about getting MESTUP tattooed on my back. This album rocks and so did this band.
Standout Tracks
Until I Met You
Walking On Broken Glass
Shell Of Myself
Jaded (These Years)
