Mentalist

MENTALIST - Earthbreaker cover art
Album Reviews

MENTALIST – Earthbreaker

April 13, 2025 Lana Teramae

German / Swedish power metal band Mentalist had a lot to prove with their fourth studio album, Earthbreaker (2025), following the success of their first three records. For those that haven’t been paying attention to this band, their sound is theatrical and over-the-top heavy metal. Picture a blend of Iron Maiden, Helloween, Judas Priest, and latter day Flotsam and Jetsam. First impression of the new album is that the album cover, created by Andreas Marschall, is incredible and it does the album title justice. Besides the current lineup of the group, the band received additional support from keyboardist Oliver Palotai and bassist Mike LePond, respectively from Kamelot and Symphony X. Mentalist wanted to make Earthbreaker heavier compared to their previous records with more speed, heavier riffs, and dramatic flare. Journey to a New World The short one-minute intro sets up the mood for an enchanting, yet powerful, for the lack of a better term, event. It transitions perfectly into the ferocious title track filled with big melodies and lots of double kick drumming. Also, props to the thick bass playing throughout the album. It’s always nice to hear awesome bass lines prominent in the mix. “March on Legionnaire” is where lead vocalist Rob Lundgren channels his inner Bruce Dickinson. He actually has a good voice when he’s not screeching his head off. “Millions of Heroes” is a major standout on the album because it’s so different from the other tracks. It’s more relaxed and tame; in other words, no monstrous double kick drum work. The instrumentation alone serves as a beautiful tribute to the world’s heroes, past and present, who have sacrificed their lives for a better future. Also, a brilliant vocal performance from Lundgren. “All for One” is a face-melting banger that’s oddly catchy and being the shortest song …READ MORE

MENTALIST - Empires Falling album cover
Album Reviews

MENTALIST – Empires Falling

October 5, 2022 Séverine Peraldino

A run-off the road Mentalist, the German Power Metal band wasted no time between their last album and this new one. Just one year after the release of the excellent A Journey Into The Unknown, the band is back with Empires Falling. While they kept the same recipe of Power Metal, with energic riffs, entertaining melodies, and catchy choruses, it seems this time they forgot a key ingredient: inspiration. While A Journey Into The Unknown was inventive, fun, and entertaining Empires Falling fails to inspire the same feelings. A mechanical release While the production of this new record is just as clear and polished as the previous one, it lacks fantasy and imagination, it is too flat and uniform. The opening title “Solution Revolution” is not as enjoyable as any track from A Journey Into The Unknown, perhaps the fault lies with the lyrics: very descriptive and a rather boring history class. The opening riff of “Stairs Of Ragusa” was pleasant enough but the chorus and vocal line do not allow it to become truly memorable. It is one of the problems with this album: Rob Lundgren is still an excellent vocalist and his performance on this album is not bad. It just seems that the songs are empty of feelings or originality. The very descriptive style of the lyrics is still present on the title track “Empires Falling”, however, this is perhaps one of the most enjoyable songs on the album. The instrumental parts manage to revive the former glory of the band. “If You Really Want” is an attempt at a more catchy approach to their Power Metal, but again not entirely successful. “Generation Legacy” fares a little better with a good chorus, like “Out Of The Darkness”. Slightly more Progressive, the album’s second half still features some pleasing …READ MORE

Mentalist
Radio Shows

This Friday’s Guest DJ: MENTALIST

September 14, 2021 Petar Chobanov

MENTALIST is a Melodic Metal band from Saarbrücken, Germany that was founded in 2018. Influences come from the genre’s greats such as Iron Maiden, Helloween and Blind Guardian that shine through but under the band’s own identity. The group consists of Peter Moog (guitars), Thomen Stauch (drums, ex Blind Guardian), Kai Stringer (guitars, ex Starchild) and Swedish singer extraordinaire Rob Lundgren on vocals. After the highly successful 2020 debut Freedom Of Speech, the group now returns with its sophomore release A Journey Into The Unknown. Just like the predecessor, this new opus puts a strong focus onto huge guitar melodies and vocal lines amongst others with Oliver Palotai (Kamelot; keyboards on all tracks) and Mike LePond (Symphony X, bass on all tracks) together with singer Henning Basse (Metalium, Firewind; backing vocals on most tracks, plus a duet on Live Forever) who all appear as guests on this record. Mentalist‘s drummer Thomen Stauch hosts this week’s show. Tune in at 15:00 and 21:00 CET/ 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. EST this Friday to hear the show! While you wait check out the official video for “Modern Philosophy”

MENTALIST - A Journey Into The Unknown
Album Reviews

MENTALIST – A Journey Into The Unknown

August 12, 2021 Séverine Peraldino

Strength in unity In these difficult times for the world of culture, you can always count on Melodic Metal band Mentalist to infuse a dose of optimism in your daily struggle. The German band does not spare any effort to bring you A Journey Into The Unknown, their second album in only two years. Making the best of the situation, and with the lack of opportunity to tour, you can only be thankful for this release, especially when the result is outstanding. Once again, Rob Lundgren proves his versatility and mastery of vocal techniques. After all, he is one of the few capable of convincingly covering André Matos’ songs (check out his YouTube channel). The combination of Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian, until A Night At The Opera), Kai Stringer (ex-Starchild), and Peter Moog’s talent is particularly efficient as well. Mentalist also recruited prestigious guests to back them up on this new record: Oliver Palotai (Kamelot), Mike LePond (Symphony X), and Henning Basse (Metalium, Firewind). All the ingredients are combined for an excellent record. Daring and improving If you enjoyed their first release, there is a very good chance you will like this one even more. Mentalist draw their inspiration from today’s politics and they critic our societies with a good dose of irony(ex: “Torture King.”) Their music thus appears as one of the last honest means of expression, free of the mass media tricks and lies, with a sound always clear, sharp, and precise. Their songs are infused with optimism and hope, despite the depressing depiction they make of the world. There is not a single bad song on this record. Throughout the ten songs, they managed to find the balance between their influences and their own musical identity, with enough originality and varied atmospheres. From the epic opening hymn “A …READ MORE

MENTALIST - Freedom Of Speech
Album Reviews

MENTALIST – Freedom Of Speech

August 18, 2020 Daniel Waters

Trigger Warning–the title track of Mentalist’s impressive debut album Freedom Of Speech includes some uncredited spoken word material (a speech? a spell? an evil-laden incantation?) from DJT, aka MC Orange Goblin. Not to be confused with England’s standout Stoner Metal act Orange Goblin, the presence of MC Orange Goblin lends an air of menace in direct contrast with the band’s sharp, precise music. Despite MC Orange Goblin’s nonsensical words, “Freedom Of Speech” is one of the all-around best tracks of 2020. There’s an aura of brightness to the tracks on Freedom of Speech‘s Power Metal approach, not just in the tone of the musicianship and Rob Lundgren’s far-ranging vocals. The brightness comes through in the messaging and the delivery of the lyrics as well. Like many of 2020’s Metal releases, Freedom Of Speech could be termed a political record; unlike many of its contemporaries, it tries to throw out some positivity alongside the trenchant analysis. Punk and Metal have ever been great vehicles to point out the ills and injustices of society; rarely have the genres been as strong at offering solutions or providing hope that real change can occur. Take “Belief”, the second single from the album, which features guest vocalist Daniel Heiman (ex. Lost Horizon). Clocking at over eight minutes, the songs starts out with some incredible timekeeping from Thomen Stauch (ex. Blind Guardian), moving swiftly into an all-too typical analysis of the failings and flaws of organized religion. But after blistering solos from Peter Moog and Kai Stringer (Starchild), the music drops, letting Lundgren and Heiman impart the real inspirational messages of the song. Believe in yourself, care for each other, and “let nature show you the way.” Nothing particularly revolutionary or insightful is revealed in those words, but the lyrical turn stands out as a breath of fresh air blowing through …READ MORE