Mind's Eye

Into The Unknown

(c)(p)1998 Sensory

Review by Neil St.Laurent

Thanks to the band for the CD

Progressive music offers the freedom to try something very different from what everybody else is doing, and it has become known as a genre known for it's high degree of technical merits, whilst maintaining strong emotional aspects. It is very unfortunate that Mind's Eye doesn't really live up to these expectations.

The introduction to the CD, that is the first part of track one, offers a simple atmospheric natural sound that tantalizes and holds your attention waiting for more.

Beyond the introduction your ears are met with what makes up the remainder of the music. The greatest deviation from the genre they are best classified as, is that the music is very discontinuous; the music doesn't have a solid flowing melody and instead attempts for a stronger aggression with a start and stop approach, provided by muted guitars and simple drum bursts. This doesn't mean there isn't any melody, and in fact there is often melody sought with a more fluid guitar or keyboard components. It is unfortunate however that for the most part this approach has resulted in what many may consider to be a broken, or more appropriately "shattered", musical style.

It appears that much of the problem may rest on the shoulders on the vocalist Johan Persson. On quick listen it appears as though he is over-emphasizing his singing in order to make up for wholes in the music, but on deeper analysis he is simply not doing a very good job of fitting in with the music. His timing is terrible, the phrases seem entirely off queue as they don't line up with any particular portion of the music. But beyond that his voice simply doesn't achieve any level of harmony with the music (better known as being off-key).

Mind's Eye has some very interesting musical components, and it would be interesting to see if, and how, their style can be improved. As it sits now, the playing is very loose, and a lack of timing / strength in this highly technical music is very devastating for the overall sound.

Mind's Eye is:
Fredrik Grünberger - Guitar
Daniel Flores - Drums, Keyboards
Johan Persson - Vocals
Johan Niemann - Bass

Contact:
Sensory
PO Box 388
Voorhees NJ 08043-0388

Fax: +1.609.751.7466
Email: lasercd@aol.com

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