MIND’S EYE – A Work Of Art (Reissue)

MIND'S EYE - A Work Of Art (Reissue)

Summary

Lion Music
Release date: June 2005

Vocals: B+
Guitars: B
Bass: B
Keyboards: B
Drums: B+
Recording Quality: B
Lyrics: B+
Originality: B
Overall Rating: B

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“Reissues” or “re-releases” are a tricky venture. Typically a paltry one or two, possibly previously unreleased, tracks are added to sway the buyer into spending more money. There’s also the issue of whether or not the release will still sound fresh after initially being released, in this case, three years ago. Thankfully the former isn’t an issue with this re-release of Mind’s Eye’s A Work Of Art album. This 2002 release is one of two re-issues now offered by Lion Music in preparing the world for a forthcoming new album by Mind’s Eye.

Newcomers to Mind’s Eye will best describe the band as a slightly progressive band with a strong focus on melody. Hints of influences by Queensrÿche, E.L.O., Yes, and Winger prevail throughout, replete with intelligent lyrics. The release starts with a small prologue full of samples of a wound clock, pages turning, etc., so from the outset you’ll wonder what’s about to happen. The first full track, “Courage Within,” starts out with some suspicious phased-vocal intro that will have you worried about what you’ve gotten yourself into. Thankfully, all doubts are set aside when the guitar and rhythm section kicks in with full force. This track quickly becomes the album’s strongest track with a powerful hook line, strong melody, and some solid drumming by Flores. “A Moment Of Honor” slows the pace down a tad, but is still overall powerfully presented, sprinkled with keyboard phrases and a Toto-like (the band not the dog) chorus.

Things take on a more leisurely pace until the track “Shallow Water” turns up the tempo slightly. With its fine melodic rocking chorus, it also stands out as one of the release’s best tracks. “The Shape Of Salvation” is memorable too with yet another strong chorus, prevalent rhythm guitar, and nice cymbal rides. Akin to a Pink Floyd release, this album is best listened to on headphones to enjoy all the sound samples and musical and production intricacies!

This re-issue also sports two bonus tracks; one being a cover of the Queensrÿche’s track “I Will Remember,” which was on the 2000 Queensrÿche tribute album (hence the word “paltry” comes into play here). The other bonus track, “End Of The Line,” is a high throttle rocker that unfortunately suffers from a poorer level of production.

Overall, this album sounds as fresh now as one would have imagined it sounded when first released in 2002. The release, as a whole, tends to have a tempo that borders on the edge of decaffeinated versus being fully leaded. The music focuses more on painting an artistic musical image versus focusing on high throttle, brain-dead riffs and lyrics. Musically, the band puts on a strong performance. Based on the writing and musicianship found on A Work Of Art, Mind’s Eye demonstrates the potential for one day putting together a classic release like Operation Mindcrime. While diehard fans might not find enough here to warrant a repurchase, new fans of Mind’s Eye will find it a worthy buy and introduction to the band.

Lineup

Andreas Novak: Vocals
Fredrik Grünberger: Guitars
Johan Niemann: Bass
Daniel Flores: Drums and Keys

Author

  • Scott Jeslis

    Scott is one of the partners at Metal Express Radio. He handles a lot of Metal Express Radio's public relations, screening of new music and radio scheduling. On occasion, he also does reviews and interviews. He has been a proud member of the Metal Express Radio crew since 2004.

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