Mastermind is set to release their first album in 9 years. Don't know how many remember, but in 1999 their Angels of Apocalypse was a pretty significant release in the prog genre. Almost universally well reviewed.
remember Mastermind?
- Thread starter adaher
- Start date
Sir Exar Kun
Member
"Angels" was a huge leap forward for them. I think their vocals on the first several albums held them back BIG TIME.
spag
I am a leaf on the wind
I liked Angels a lot, but I can't say the vocals on it really did it for me. I guess I have a certain range of female vocals I like, and this didn't really fit.
Glad to hear about the new album though. I'm very bummed I haven't gotten to see them live in a very long time. A couple of their first albums are still regular visits for me. Maybe Mastermind III being the one I play the most.
Glad to hear about the new album though. I'm very bummed I haven't gotten to see them live in a very long time. A couple of their first albums are still regular visits for me. Maybe Mastermind III being the one I play the most.
Troy the nomad
Actually I've resettled
Thanks, good new indeed! They blew me away the first time I saw them and I still regularly listen to all of their stuff!
Glad they are finally back. I know that they took an indefinite hiatus when their bass player died.
While Angels was a good album, I still think Excelsior! was a better album overall. I've seen them many times over the years, but I'll always treasure their performance at the first NEARFest as their best performance ever.
While Angels was a good album, I still think Excelsior! was a better album overall. I've seen them many times over the years, but I'll always treasure their performance at the first NEARFest as their best performance ever.
booB
Señor Member
Curly
667 Neighbor Of The Beast
Locust0311
Shopping Ape
Just revisited Angels tonight, what a killer disc. Too bad the singer didn't stick. I never heard the EP they released afterward so I'm not sure how the girl they replaced her with sounds. I'll at least give the new one a listen when it comes out.
Lisa Bouchelle is a pop/rock singer now. I'm guessing she didn't stick because Mastermind didn't make any more albums and she has something else going on now.
I know at one point they had replaced her with someone else. Never saw them with the replacement, tho.
KingsGene
God of Thunder
From www.melodicrock.com :
"Progressive rock band Mastermind is back with their first full length album of original music in almost a decade.
Since their formation in New Jersey by brothers Bill and Rich Berends in 1986 the band have become synonymous with delivering original sounding progressive rock with diverse arrangements and room for a healthy dose of experimentation. Once again the instrumentation is strong, Bill Berends guitar transcends numerous genres and combines with the keyboard interplay of Jens Johansson for a musically interesting package.
Insomnia is the band's seventh album and marks the album debut of vocalist Tracy McShane. The tracks have been built around McShane's powerful vocals and focus more on songs as opposed to over the top instrumental play of previous releases. As a result Insomnia is arguably the most accessible Mastermind album to date - yet a progression over the bands career can be heard continuing on Insomnia along with the elements considered to be Mastermind trademarks.
Bill Berends comments, "I don't want to keep writing the same symphony over & over again, so this seventh effort features a different approach and a different diva than the previous work. Basically we want to try new things stylistically and make a good album that would reach beyond the boundaries of progressive rock in the traditional sense. We started to move in that direction with "Angels", so "Insomnia" is something of an extension of that thinking. People tend to judge you on your last work, but what they don't seem to realize is trying something new doesn't negate our entire history, it just adds to it. We released two tracks from "Insomnia" on our own as the "Broken" EP single in 2005 and they were extremely well received, but it took some time to find a label that could see the potential since we don't sound like everyone else. We had several offers, but nothing I thought would really be to our benefit until we connected with Lion Music.< br> Lyrically the album focuses on observations and reflections from everyday life experiences that might drive one to sleeplessness. Bill Berends continues, I lost a lot of sleep during the time spent making this album. The title came about after the recording was well under way, it just seemed appropriate. However, in another sense it is definitely a complete work that is best appreciated by listening to the entire album straight through. Certainly you can pick out individual songs to feature, and they do stand on their own, but I don't think you will "get it" until you hear the whole album in its entirety. In that respect it is a very big work, and perhaps that might be the 'progressive' element to it."
Mastermind are a band happy to follow their own sound and have built a worldwide fan base which appreciates this outlook.
Track Listing: 01. Desire (5:33) 02. Break Me Down (3:29) 03. One More Night (5:23) 04. Meltdown (4:13) 05. Piggy World (4:42) 06. No Answer (4:08) 07. Broken (4:22) 08. Night Flier (3:49) 09. Nietzsche (5:23) 10. Last Cigarette (9:16).
Musicians: Bill Berends: Guitars, Synth, Bass, Vocals. Rich Berends: Drums Tracy McShane: Lead vocal. Jens Johansson: Keyboard & Piano. GUEST Musicians Chris Eike (ex-Handfarm): Bass Greg Hagen: Bass.
WebLinks: www.mastermindband.com / www.myspace.com/mastermindband."
"Progressive rock band Mastermind is back with their first full length album of original music in almost a decade.
Since their formation in New Jersey by brothers Bill and Rich Berends in 1986 the band have become synonymous with delivering original sounding progressive rock with diverse arrangements and room for a healthy dose of experimentation. Once again the instrumentation is strong, Bill Berends guitar transcends numerous genres and combines with the keyboard interplay of Jens Johansson for a musically interesting package.
Insomnia is the band's seventh album and marks the album debut of vocalist Tracy McShane. The tracks have been built around McShane's powerful vocals and focus more on songs as opposed to over the top instrumental play of previous releases. As a result Insomnia is arguably the most accessible Mastermind album to date - yet a progression over the bands career can be heard continuing on Insomnia along with the elements considered to be Mastermind trademarks.
Bill Berends comments, "I don't want to keep writing the same symphony over & over again, so this seventh effort features a different approach and a different diva than the previous work. Basically we want to try new things stylistically and make a good album that would reach beyond the boundaries of progressive rock in the traditional sense. We started to move in that direction with "Angels", so "Insomnia" is something of an extension of that thinking. People tend to judge you on your last work, but what they don't seem to realize is trying something new doesn't negate our entire history, it just adds to it. We released two tracks from "Insomnia" on our own as the "Broken" EP single in 2005 and they were extremely well received, but it took some time to find a label that could see the potential since we don't sound like everyone else. We had several offers, but nothing I thought would really be to our benefit until we connected with Lion Music.< br> Lyrically the album focuses on observations and reflections from everyday life experiences that might drive one to sleeplessness. Bill Berends continues, I lost a lot of sleep during the time spent making this album. The title came about after the recording was well under way, it just seemed appropriate. However, in another sense it is definitely a complete work that is best appreciated by listening to the entire album straight through. Certainly you can pick out individual songs to feature, and they do stand on their own, but I don't think you will "get it" until you hear the whole album in its entirety. In that respect it is a very big work, and perhaps that might be the 'progressive' element to it."
Mastermind are a band happy to follow their own sound and have built a worldwide fan base which appreciates this outlook.
Track Listing: 01. Desire (5:33) 02. Break Me Down (3:29) 03. One More Night (5:23) 04. Meltdown (4:13) 05. Piggy World (4:42) 06. No Answer (4:08) 07. Broken (4:22) 08. Night Flier (3:49) 09. Nietzsche (5:23) 10. Last Cigarette (9:16).
Musicians: Bill Berends: Guitars, Synth, Bass, Vocals. Rich Berends: Drums Tracy McShane: Lead vocal. Jens Johansson: Keyboard & Piano. GUEST Musicians Chris Eike (ex-Handfarm): Bass Greg Hagen: Bass.
WebLinks: www.mastermindband.com / www.myspace.com/mastermindband."
Tracy McShane does have a MySpace page, if you want to check her out...
http://www.myspace.com/tracymcshane
http://www.myspace.com/tracymcshane
Locust0311
Shopping Ape
There are two tracks on the bands MySpace page. I hear elements of AotA in them but then I hear other elements that make me go hmmm. I'm not sure what to expect now.
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