Acute Mind is the latest band of the Polish invasion, within the progressive rock/metal world. Their self titled debut contains a variety of moods in each song. Some aggressive, some ballads but all progressive . It‘s also more of a melodic album than most progressive metal bands. In today’s market, a 41 minute album is on the short side but I have to say it’s an amazing 41 minutes. I don’t think the band should have pushed for more. They seem to care more about quality than quantity, which I wished more bands did.
The songs are between the 3:30 to 6:30 minutes. Within these times, the band composes them with care and not trying to out do each other. They are a collective not a bunch of soloists. Everything is done tastefully and never takes anything away from the song.
A few songs on this album standout to me, “Misery” (3:33) which starts off in a very atmospheric way and leads into a ballad. Very well done and moving song that has a spiritual vibe about it. In a perfect world, this could be a lead single.
“Sweet Smell Of Success’ (4:34) is one of the more progressive tracks on this album. It’s powerful yet not in your face within the duration song. In my opinion, this is a perfect representation of melodic progressive metal as anything I‘ve heard in recent years.
Another progressive track is “Faces” (6:30) which is also the longest and the only instrumental track on the album. On this song, it showcases the bands talents, again no one is stepping on each others toes. This is one of the better instrumentals I’ve heard in the progressive metal genre.
“Bonds Of Fear” (5:40) combines the best elements of melodic progressive metal. On one hand, there’s the tight instrumentation with some heavy bursts of metal spaced out during the song. On the other hand, the vocals are so emotional here. There’s a sense of controlled power that captures the listener’s attention. This is also one of my favorite songs to be produced in 2010.
In closing, if you’re seeking progressive metal on the melodic side then Acute Mind is the band for you. They’re a stand-out within the Polish movement because they don’t try to imamate or emulate the current set of bands. Just check out the samples on their MySpace page and hear for yourself.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on August 24th, 2010
