Mind's Eye - A Work Of Art

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Rising Sun Productions
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 65:16:00

The Swedish prog kings Mind's Eye have had a tremendous development throughout the early stages of Afterglow (pre Mind's Eye), their debut (Into The Unknown), and on to their second album (...Waiting The Tide), which was nothing less than a masterpiece. Now they are back with their third album which sees the return of original bassist, Johan Niemann.

A Work Of Art follows where ...Waiting For The Tide left off. During the years, Mind's Eye has dedicated and perfected their charismatic sound which will appeal just as much to the prog rock fan as to prog metal fans. Mind's Eye is walking a fine line between rock and metal, flirting with the best of both genres. The various members have a wide range of influences which is deeply integrated into the music. You can hear pomp, AOR, rock, metal, and above all, progressive.

Mind's Eye's emphasis is on capturing atmosphere, mood, and melody. This is the kind of music that takes a little while to get into but most importantly gets better each time you spin the disc. From heavy staccato riffing to beautiful acoustic and piano based songs, the variation and intricate technical details is entertaining. Each member masters their instruments convincingly with a tasty delivery - it's a sheer joy to listen to. On top you have the classy mid-ranged vocals by Daniel Novak. The songwriting is top notch and the arrangements are perfectly suited and well thought out. The first ? of the CD is incredibly strong and matches the best of ...Waiting for the Tide easily. If I had to put my finger on anything, and this is just a problem of luxury, it would be that the last 3 songs are not as strong the first 10. Don't get me wrong, these are by no means weak songs, they are all solid songs, but I think that because of the length of the disc, the last part does not catch my attention the way the first 3/4 does. Having said that, I should point out that there is not one single weak song on this disc and when the first 10 songs are flat out killers (which rarely happens), I wouldn't hesitate to give this disc a high score. The production by the band is crystal clear and perfectly balanced. Marvelous!

What can I say? This band is so underrated it's a shame. A Work Of Art and ...Waiting For The Tide should be public property in every prog fans collection.

On top of the music you have the classy booklet/artwork of Mattias Norén, I guess the band couldn't have picked a more appropriate title for their third CD. Because that is exactly what this is! Damn near a perfect album!

Similar To: Dream Theater, Marillion, Yes, Queensryche

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Prologue - Lullaby (0:50) / Courage Within (5:54) / A Moment Of Honor (4:52) / Roll The Dice (4:26) / Room With A View (1:57) / Shallow Water (4:50) / My Kindred Soul (6:09) / The Shape Of Salvation (6:14) / These Open Arms (5:56) / An Eye For An Eye (5:20) / Hands Of Time (6:27) / Your World (5:08) / Epilogue - Domino (7:11)

Musicians:
Johan Niemann - bass
Andreas Novak - vocals
Fredrik Gr?nberger - guitars
Daniel Flores - drums, keyboards

Discography:
Afterglow (1994) (demo)
Into The Unknown (1998)
Waiting For The Tide (2000/2002)
Record Heaven Sampler (2000) (free with Progression Magazine)
Powermad 2000 Sampler (2000)
Transcending The Mundane Sampler (2000)
Warning: Minds Of Raging Empires - A Tribute To Queensryche (2000)
'Calling (Father To Sun)' (2000)
A Work Of Art (2002)
Walk On H20 (2006)
A Gentleman's Hurricane (2007)
1994: The Afterglow (remastered ed. of first album) (2008)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin SE

Added: January 17th 2005
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: www.roundrec.com
Hits: 3370
Language: english