Mynded – Dead End Paradise

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.   

Be sure to check out and like Mynded on Facebook!

Highlights

"Kill Or Be Killed"

"Humanity Faded Away"

Final Rating

3.9/5 or 78%. 

Written by Scott

Envenomed – Evil Unseen

After being independently released in 2014, Envenomed’s “Evil Unseen” is seeing a 2015 reissue by none other than the very prolific thrash label: Punishment 18 Records. This label is the most appropriate place for these Australian thrashers, as this record delivers an experience that is sure to get some heads moving. Envenomed’s brand of thrash is a little bit different from most of their peers. They look back to a simpler time when thrash was about songs, and not just speed. This means that their music can get incredibly melodic at times, both vocally and musically. Their singer has the ideal range for this style of thrash. Though he’s not a copy of someone like Joey Belladonna, he is a good approximation for talent. Envenomed’s singer can get more aggressive when he needs to, but also spends a lot of time singing in a more melodic fashion.

The band’s style of thrash is quite similar. There is no shortage of hard-hitting riffs, but they are intertwined with melodies that allow the music room to breathe. This creates for a much more balanced attack than Australian counterparts Harlott, for example (though their take on thrash is equally thrilling). Sometimes it feels just a little bit too modern, but soon enough, Envenomed brings back the riffing to remind you that this is a thrash album. It also helps that the production is on point. The guitars are meaty, and have a giant crunch, while the drums correctly manage to be the backbone of the band’s sound. This is particularly evident on "Disobeying The Beast", which features plenty of mid-paced, stompingly heavy sections.

Still, “Evil Unseen” leaves the listener wanting just a little bit more. Envenomed hits the mark so well on a song like “Will of Man”, that it makes much of the record frustrating because they fail to replicate those heights again. This style of thrash metal is very conducive to writing memorable songs, yet after quite a few listens to this album, not enough sticks. The band clearly has the talent to make their music stand out, but it’s a consistency issue. Nonetheless, “Evil Unseen” is an interesting and worthwhile listen because it’s a modern version of a once popular take on thrash metal.

Be sure to check out and like Envenomed on Facebook!

Highlight

"Will of Man"

Final Rating

3.7/5 or 74%. 

Written by Scott

Progressive Chemistry – Out For Blood

“Out For Blood” is the newest full-length album from American death/groove band Progressive Chemistry. Their sound spans a variety of subgenres and styles largely focused in heavy metal, but occasionally showing outside influence as well. With that said, the primary sound they employ is an interesting hybrid of death metal with lots of groove (with more emphasis on the latter). In general, this means that you’ll get plenty of growling, alongside riffs that would fit in death metal songs, but played considerably slower. Sometimes it makes the band sound more restrained than they should be, but clearly their focus is not on playing as fast as is humanly possible.

Admittedly, this style is not my thing, but the band is able to create something that even I can enjoy. The first two full tracks, “Hostile Intent” and “Out For Blood”, are definitely the best on the album because feature the strongest, most interesting riffs, as well as the most cohesive songwriting. Subsequent to these songs, the band occasionally goes off the rails a little bit. One example is the punky “Prosthetic”. Barely cracking 90 seconds, this song sounds like it was influenced by any number of classic hardcore punk bands, but it doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the record. Similarly, the track “Haunted” shows the band experimenting with clean vocals, and to put it quite bluntly, it just does not work. This song actually opens with a cool clean guitar section that features an awesome shredding solo over top, but quickly falls apart when the vocals enter. Unfortunately these vocals also show up elsewhere on the album, such as on "Inside You", where the band abandons any trace of death metal in favour of full-on groove metal. 

“Out For Blood” does show a lot of promise, but it also has room for improvement. While there are pockets of bands who thrive on the groove sound, it feels like this sound is designed to strip away everything that makes death metal or thrash metal great. If Progressive Chemistry tightens up the production, keeps the tempos consistently high with a more punk/thrash-style beat, and drops the clean vocals altogether, it would be easy to see them ascending the ranks of metal in America. This style just feels like it’s waiting to explode into something more aggressive.

Be sure to check out and like Progressive Chemistry on Facebook!

Highlights

"Hostile Intent"

"Out For Blood"

Final Rating

3.1/5 or 62%. 

Written by Scott