UMUR
"Mindbender" is the 5th full-length studio album by French thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Mighty Music in November 2021. It´s the successor to "Demonikhol" from 2015. Only lead vocalist/bassist/guitarist Eric Forrest remains from the lineup who recorded the predecessor and new in the lineup are drummer Patrick Friedrich and lead guitarist Sébastien Chiffot. The former was already involved with E-Force on "Demonikhol" (2015) in a role as producer/engineer/mixer.
Stylistically the material on "Mindbender" is a continuation of the by now well known heavy mid-paced thrash metal style that E-Force have played since day one. Heavy riffs and beats, the occasional lead guitar moment, and Forrest´s ultra raw and aggressive vocals in front. While the material on the 11 track, 51:49 minutes long album are well written, almost all tracks feature a similar pace, vocal- and riffing style, and only the dark atmospheric "Futures Past" and the cover of "Insect" by Voivod stand out (and not necessarily in a good way). The latter is a bit of a curiosity, as Forrest has chosen to cover a song, where he sang and played on the original too. I´m afraid I don´t really see the point. While Forrest´s vocals are slightly different on this cover version, it´s still pretty close to the original, and E-Force don´t really manage to put their own spin on it. You can pick any other track from the album though (besides the two different sounding tracks, which are sub par to the rest) and you´ll be sure to encounter heavy, mid-paced, and aggressive thrash metal of a good quality.
The sound production is professional, and well sounding. It´s sharp and adds a nice aggressive environment for the material to shine, but I could have wished for a more audible bass and a more heavy bottom sound. I wouldn´t call the album thin sounding, but considering that the main man of the band is a bassist in addition to being the lead vocalist, I would have expected a more bass heavy assault. So "Mindbender" isn´t a perfect release, but E-Force have overall managed to release another good quality release, and if you enjoyed the preceding releases by the band, this one is recommeded too. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.