Nearly 30 years removed from the heyday of
German thrash, the legendary country continues to pump out young denim jacket-clad thrashers with
incredible ease. The next such example is Mynded, a 4-piece group formed a few
years ago. “Dead End Paradise” is their first full-length record, and comes on
the heels of an EP released in early 2013. This album has everything a thrash
fan could want: riffs that will cause permanent memory loss inside your skull,
technical playing that showcases incredible talent without being overbearing,
and even a few great songs. One example of where all of these elements combine
is the opening track, “Kill or Be Killed” (which is far superior to the
similarly named band). The song pounds along furiously, while incorporating
heavier thrash breakdowns into the chorus with no difficulties.
The ability to seamlessly change the feel
of a song by adjusting the drumbeats is something Mynded does quite often. In
fact, the band could actually benefit from simplifying the drumming a little
bit and utilizing more of the standard kick-snare-kick-snare beat that is so
prevalent in thrash. This beat is obviously common on the record (after all, it
is thrash), but its appearance is always welcomed. To be fair, most of your
attention on this record will likely be focused on the guitars. When Mynded’s
guitarists aren’t delivering serious riffage, they’re likely working in tandem
to provide killer harmonies. The first time this becomes particularly
noticeable is in “Humanity Faded Away”, which has a very Maiden-inspired
section in the middle. As if that weren’t good enough, the band goes and does
something similar on “Overthrow”, but with significantly more speed.
Being from Germany, one might expect Mynded’s
vocal approach to be more on the brutal side; however, the band’s singer is a
far cry from the screams of Mille or the shrieks of Schmier. Instead, he goes
for a more subdued approach. On the one hand, he is by no means a virtuosic
singer, and is not meant to compete with Joey Belladonna. On the other, his
voice lacks the true visceral sound of the aforementioned German singers. The
outcome is something that tries to be aggressive, but with an inescapable sense
of melody. Though he doesn’t sound like Matt Drake (Evile) or James Hetfield,
these singers would be appropriate comparisons. While his voice is good, it feels like he's on the edge of his potential without hitting it yet. The best is yet to come for Mynded's singer.
Overall, “Dead End Paradise” is an
admirable effort. The band knows what they do well, and that is playing
relatively fast-paced thrash metal with a few hints of melody. Mynded doesn’t
experiment a lot, nor do they often leave their comfort zone, but the result is a
record that is both well composed and very enjoyable. While it would be nice to
see them up the intensity of the music even further, one can’t fault them for
adding a bit of variety to an often one-dimensional subgenre of metal.
Highlights
"Kill Or Be Killed"
"Humanity Faded Away"
Final Rating
3.9/5 or 78%.
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