Mentalist: A Journey Into the Unknown

After Hitting the ground running in 2020 with the well respected debut Freedom Of Speech, Germany’s Mentalist have returned with their sophomore album A Journey Into The Unknown, and have continued wearing their influences on their sleeves while attempting to forge ahead in creating their own unique identity. Mentalist has a very experienced line up for this album consisting of Peter Moog (guitars), Thomen Stauch (drums, ex BLIND GUARDIAN), Kai Stringer (guitars, ex STARCHILD) and Swedish singer extraordinaire Rob Lundgren on vocals, so expectations are high for this release.

Musically, A Journey Into The Unknown, is pure Power Metal that leans more into the Traditional Heavy Metal end of the scale rather than the modern, overly cheesy end of things. The band have said that they are heavily influenced by the likes of Iron Maiden, Helloween and Blind Guardian and for the most part it definitely shows throughout. Songs Like the title track “A Journey Into The Unknown� and the quirky but fun “Dentalist� have a strong Helloween vibe, loaded with soaring vocals and guitar melodies and of course the requisite speed. “Modern Philosophy� and “Evil Eye� lean more into the Iron Maiden feel with a slightly heavier and darker sound. These songs however don’t drift too far from the others and the catchy melodies are still in full effect. Then we see more of the Blind Guardian aspect with songs like “Soldier Without A War�, “Torture King� and “Battle Dressed� among others. The performances throughout by each band member are highly professional and slick. Peter and Kai’s guitar parts are packed full of melodic and memorable passages and harmonized lines. The bass and drums are both handled perfectly for this music and sound great both in terms of what's played but also from a production standpoint and Rob Lundgren’s vocals are powerful, catchy and melodic. He’s able to soar into those higher realms with ease and to great effect and power. The production is also clean and tight while retaining, for the most part, the overall power.

A Journey Into The Unknown is an album that captures the fun, power and slickness of the artists Mentalist has been influenced by and has done so with an obvious professionalism that only comes from experience. Because the album leans more towards Heavy Metal it may appeal to a larger audience however it is still Power Metal and so perhaps that’s overly optimistic. For lovers of the genre however this album has a lot to offer. The high standard of the playing coupled with the catchiness of the material makes for a fun and engaging listen that may be better than all the recent releases by their favorite influences. Mentalist have delivered a strong sophomore effort that is sure to please Power Metal fans.

Line Up:
Peter Moog (guitars)
Thomen Stauch (drums, ex BLIND GUARDIAN)
Kai Stringer (guitars, ex STARCHILD)
Rob Lundgren on vocals.

Track list:
1. Horizon
2. A Journey Into The Unknown
3. Modern Philosophy
4. Evil Eye
5. An Ocean So Deep
6. Dentalist
7. Soldier Without A War
8. Torture King
9. Battle Dressed
10. Live Forever
11. Manchild (Cover & bonus track)

Added: October 15th 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 622
Language: english

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