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Redemption
Studio album by Mystery
Released	May 15, 2023 (2023-05-15)
Recorded	2018–2023
Genre	Symphonic rock hard rock progressive rock
Length	74:06
Label	Unicorn Digital
Producer	Michel St-Père
Mystery chronology
Lies and Butterflies (2018) Redemption (2023)
Singles from Redemption
"Behind the Mirror" Released: October 26, 2022 "Redemption" Released: April 7, 2023

Redemption is the eighth studio album by the Canadian rock band Mystery, released on May 15, 2023, on Unicorn Digital. The album features the same lineup as the band's previous studio album, Lies and Butterflies, as well as featuring guest keyboardist Johnny Maz.

Production

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Melodic

Background

Recording for the album started in 2018 and was originally planned for release in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the cancellation of live events, the band felt they didn't have a deadline to work towards causing progress on the album to slow down, leading to the second longest interval between studio albums. Once the band was able to begin playing live shows again in the summer of 2022, progress on the album began to pick up. With the album the band wanted to remain positive and give people hope.

Songs

The first track "Behind the Mirror" was inspired by the refugee crisis. The song was released as the first single from the album on October 26, 2022.

Pageau wrote "Every Note" with his brother Marc around 2005. Marc wrote approximately 75 percent of the lyrics while Jean wrote the remaining 25 percent and the music. The song had previously been submitted for consideration to be included on an album and it was decided to ultimately include it on Redemption.

"Pearls and Fire" was written in parts over the span of many years, some of it being written approximately 20 years before the album was released. The song was inspired by the life of Léo Major, a French Canadian soldier who fought in World War II in the Netherlands. St-Père already had the music written for the song, but the lyrics had not been written yet when a fan suggested writing a song about Major's story to the band.

"Homecoming" is the first song Michaud has a writing credit for on a Mystery album and like "Every Note" was also previously submitted to the band.

While working on the album it was originally considered to split "Is This How The Story Ends?" into two parts, one to open the album and the other to close it.

Cover art

The cover art for the album was produced by photographer and digital artist Kevin Carden. St-Père discovered Carden's work while looking for a cover for Lies and Butterflies.

Release

The album reached number 5 on the Official Charts Independent Album Breakers Chart, number 18 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 45 on the Official Independent Albums Chart for the week of June 22 through June 28, 2023.

Track listing

Personnel

• Jean Pageau - vocals, keyboards, flute
• Michel St-Père - electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards
• François Fournier - bass guitar, Taurus pedals, keyboards, tambourine
• Sylvain Moineau - electric and acoustic guitars
• Jean-Sébastien Goyette - drums
• Antoine Michaud - keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, growl vocals

Additional musician

• Johnny Maz - keyboards

Release information

• CD - Unicorn Digital - UNCR-5135 - 2023
• Vinyl - Oskar - 049LP - 2023

References

1. "Mystery - Redemption". ArtRock.pl. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
2. Roth, Kaj (January 21, 2024). "Melodic Net Review: Mystery - Redemption". Melodic. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
3. ^ Rijkens, Paul (July 2023). "Verlossing van de enige echte". iO Pages. No. 186. pp. 6–7, 9.
4. ^ Pelletant, Olivier (May 2023). "Album témoin". Big Bang. No. 121. pp. 11–13.
5. ^ Reijman, Alison (August 2023). "Mystery Lessons". Prog. No. 142. pp. 64–66.
6. ^ Porr, Wolfram (June 2023). "Kleines Pflänzchen Hoffnungs" [Little Plant of Hope]. Eclipsed (in German). No. 251. p. 28.
7. Mienert, Renald (September 2023). "Mystery". Empire. No. 152. p. 72.
8. Desgagné, Marc (October 26, 2022). "Mystery - Premier extrait du nouvel album Redemption à paraître au printemps 2023". MetalUniverse. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
9. ^ Reyes, Richard (June 22, 2023). "ProgPhonic 128: Mystery (Redemption) & Interview w Jean Pageau". Progrock.com (Podcast). Event occurs at 22:52. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
10. Plat, Paulien (December 5, 2023). "Canadese band schrijft lied over oorlogsheld Léo Major". De Stentor. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
11. "REDEMPTION – MYSTERY | Official Charts". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 23, 2024.

• 2023 albums
• Mystery (band) albums
• Symphonic rock albums
• Hard rock albums by Canadian artists