MINDMAZE — Mask of Lies (review)

MINDMAZE — Mask of Lies album cover Album · 2013 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
adg211288
Mask of Lies is the debut full-length album by US heavy metal act MindMaze. It was released in 2013. MindMaze were previously known as Necromance and released a demo and an EP under that name before calling it a day. Necromance were reactivated in 2010, but in 2012 changed their name to MindMaze. Mask of Lies contains a few songs from the Necromance days as well as new compositions and is an entirely self-released effort.

The music is a mixed bag consisting mostly of melodic traditional heavy metal that quite often reminds me of Iron Maiden’s distinctive sound, albeit with the modern twist towards the sound that many metalheads these days simply refer to as melodic metal. There are also elements of power metal to be found, while the longer and more adventurous tracks push towards full blown progressive metal. Transitions between the different aspects of the sound are seamless, resulting in Mask of Lies coming across as a coherent and professional debut. Finally in Sarah Teets MindMaze has a great frontwoman whose melodic vocals suit the music perfectly.

The end result is that Mask of Lies is a solid album, but one that I feel shows the potential of better things to come more than anything else. While some songs, such as This Holy War and Dark City (Dreaming This Life), are really creative and the album’s most progressive tracks, others, particularly the older songs, are merely enjoyable, competent tracks. It’s pretty clear to me that MindMaze have improved as writers when comparing the old Necromance stuff to the new MindMaze stuff, so as catchy as tracks like Never Look Back and Breaking the Chains are, I can’t help but think Mask of Lies would have been an even stronger debut if the band written a few more new songs for it. The exception would be Destiny Calls, the closing track, which even features use of a flute, and is an easy highlight as well.

If Mask of Lies is anything to go by, we’re going to be hearing some really special stuff from MindMaze in the future. They nearly got there this time, with the crowning achievement being Dark City (Dreaming This Life). If they produced an album that maintained that level of quality, which would also have them becoming a fully fledged progressive metal act, which is where Mask of Lies shows their true talents to lie, then they’d be one of the most exciting new bands on the metal scene. For now, a great album tier rating is deserved.

84/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org/mindmaze-mask-of-lies-t2823.html))
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