Mind Abduction: Monolith

As with many struggling bands, the early history of Finnish prog metal outfit Mind Abduction is a convoluted affair. Initially this four-piece came together as far back as 2003, producing a couple of demos before a dose of real life took over. Fast forward to the time between 2011 and 2013 and the debut album Monolith was prepared, although it would be a further year before this mainly digital release would see the light of day – and after some positive reaction in their homeland, Mind Abduction are now hoping to spread their message further afield.

Knowing that back story, what immediately strikes is that Mind Abduction sound remarkably current, a mix of clean progressions offset by grinding riffs, soothing vocals and throat shredding growls. Had this act appeared with that mix the year they formed, we'd be talking ground breakers here, yet twelve years down the line and there's a feel of box ticking niggling away in the background. However even though the mix on this release is a serious drawback (vocals lost somewhere under the guitars, drums deafening alongside bass when you turn the volume up), there's no denying the there's talent on show as "The Strain" pounds in a reasonably straight forward, yet effective manner, or "Waves Of Gravity" reveals a technical side that marks this lot out as real talents on their chosen instruments. Vocally Tuomas Pere has a captivating singing voice, although the growls (convincing though they are) are pretty perfunctory, however it has to be said that they do offer up a keen counterbalance. Where this outfit's real strengths lie though is through an ever changing guitar attack from Pere and Jussi Hautamaki, the pair as likely to dart and swoop melodically as they are to crank everything up for full on riffed aggression. Both approaches are handled with a real sense of purpose, and even though there is a sense that you've heard this attack over and over again in recent years, once you wade past the muddy mix, there's no denying that there's promise aplenty on show; "Treadmill" proving Mind Abduction can handle the more reserved (although we're hardly talking relaxed) side of things just as convincingly as "Icebreaker" uncovers an almost extreme metal bite.

Being brutally honest, there's no denying that there are better sounding, more professionally presented DIY debut albums out there. However for all that Monolith does spend much of its time following some well worn paths, there's also a strong suggestion that Mind Abduction have the ability and skills to grow into an act of serious value. Monolith may have too many factors holding it back from being serious competition for the big boys however there's a real possibility that this band may not be too far away from that oft elusive step up.

Track Listing
1. Treadmill
2. Eye of the universe
3. Prophecies of time
4. Icebreaker
5. Monolith
6. Wasting mind
7. The strain
8. Waves of gravity

Added: June 14th 2015
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Mind Abduction on Facebook
Hits: 1834
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]