Controlled Mind: The Symbols of a Hero

Colombian progressive metallers Controlled Mind formed in 2006 and released an EP, Mind-Slave's Thought, in 2008, and have now released this, their debut album, a completely instrumental work that spans as many styles as it does techniques. The musicians are unquestionably proficient, seamlessly shifting between styles and time-signatures in a beat. Though the guitar sits at the forefront of the music, it never dominates the tracks, instead winding itself around the other instruments that combine to produce a vast sound that is richly textured. The songs structures are subtly complex and have a perpetual motion, a driving fluidity that makes you forget that this is an instrumental album. The songs are full bodied and varied enough to keep the listener interested. Where it would be easy to repeat a riff or a rhythm and let the guitarist shred all over them, Controlled Mind let the songs breathe and take on a life of their own, their own voice being given free reign. The room for exploration is fervently exploited and the songs become boundless but never to the point of self-indulgent technicality. Staying in the high gears for the most part, The Symbols of a Hero is a very impressive work and beats a lot of the instrumental albums out there hands down.

Track Listing:

1. The Keys
2. The Mind Starts to Work
3. From the Past
4. The Dark Road
5. Unstable Hurt
6. The Premature Burial
7. Loneliness: The Sacrifice
8. Returning Pt1
9. Returning Pt2

Added: September 16th 2011
Reviewer: Jason Guest
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook
Hits: 2530
Language: english

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