Transcend: The Mind

Transcend are a Progressive Metal band formed in the suburbs of Montreal, who describe themselves on their website as having "a raging passion to abolish formulaic and simplified popular music of all genres". The Mind is their debut album, released after 5 years of the band's existence, and shows a wealth of potential. It is a concept album, built around the concept of following the growth of the mind of a child, starting with simple and immature reality, moving through the lessons of life, and finally ending as a free and open mind. Musically, there are some obvious influences coming from Dream Theater, Symphony X, Pain of Salvation, and Devin Townsend, but Transcend manages to put their own spin on Progressive Metal with some spacey sections (a la Pink Floyd, perhaps), the occasional addition of the Greek Bouzouki, male and female vocal duets, and of course some heavy riffs on top of odd time signatures. As one would expect from the goal described by the band above, the compositions do not follow a predictable patter with verse, chorus and the occasional bridge, but rather take the listener on a musical journey of exploration. The album ends in a massive 44 minute long multi-part epic which will surely give many listeners great amounts of satisfaction. This is a fantastic debut, and exceeds many expectations, leaving me wondering where this band will go next!

Track listing:
1. Moment of Infinity
2. Entity Divine
3. The Love Song
4. Reign Over Me
The Mind
5. The Mind Part 1: The Mind Awaits
6. The Mind Part 2: To Walk Away
7. The Mind Part 3: New Horizons
8. The Mind Part 4: Carved in Stone
9. The Mind Part 5: In the Shadow of My Mind
10. The Mind Part 6: Downfall
11. The Mind Part 7: Ascension
12. The Mind Part 8: A New Mind for a New World

Added: October 30th 2012
Reviewer: Geoff Glenister
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2937
Language: english

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