{"id":27937,"date":"2013-03-06T20:52:15","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T01:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=27937"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:34:12","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:34:12","slug":"mindmaze-mask-of-lies-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/mindmaze-mask-of-lies-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"MindMaze | Mask of Lies<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor \/ Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Mindmaze\"Pennsylvania-based progressive metal band MindMaze have just released their debut album, titled Mask of Lies<\/em>, independently. The female-fronted band, which was previously active under the name Necromance, plays a fairly traditional brand of progressive metal some power metal elements and a healthy measure of melody. Mask of Lies<\/em> also features guest appearances from Lord Tim (Dungeon, Lord) and John Gaffney (Sinister Realm).<\/p>\n

Mask of Lies is an easy album to get into. Right from the start you know you\u2019re in familiar territory. Progressive metal has grown in a lot of interesting directions lately, and as great as that is there\u2019s something about that classic, Dream Theater-inspired sound that \u2013 when it\u2019s done right \u2013 is hard to resist. MindMaze definitely get it right. The songs on Mask of Lies<\/em> have a high level of technicality, keyboards play a prominent role, and the band wisely avoids the kind of lengthy, self-indulgent instrumental clinics that so many others seem powerless to resist. Instead, MindMaze keeps things very accessible through a great use of melody and Sarah Teets\u2019 strong, steady vocal performance. Unlike some vocalists (who shall remain nameless), Teets understands the difference between shouting and singing, and she uses her range and power to great effect here. The vocals are the perfect counterpoint to Jeff Teets\u2019 intricate and melodic guitar work.<\/p>\n

Highlights on Mask of Lies<\/em> include the powerful, anthemic \u201cBreaking the Chains\u201d the title track, which really satisfy on a power metal level. The album\u2019s two epics \u2013 \u201cDark City (Dreaming This Life)\u201d and closer \u201cDestiny Calls\u201d \u2013 also stand out as tracks most likely to excite the Dream Theater fans. <\/p>\n

This was a pleasant surprise. Mask of Lies<\/em> is just a well-written, well-executed melodic progressive metal album all around, and the production and artwork are beyond what you might expect from an independent release. MindMaze is a band that should have a pretty wide appeal. Obviously, fans of female-fronted metal (anything from After Forever to Seven Kingdoms) will enjoy this, but fans of high quality progressive metal in general ought to find a lot to like in Mask of Lies. MindMaze proves that the future of American progressive metal is in good hands.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nSarah Teets (v)
\nJeff Teets (g)(k)(v)
\nRich Pasqualone (b)
\nKalin Schweizerhof (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tNever Look Back
\n2.\tBreaking the Chains
\n3.\tThis Holy War
\n4.\tCosmic Overture
\n5.\tFading Skies
\n6.\tMask of Lies
\n7.\tDark City (Dreaming This Life)
\n8.\tRemember
\n9.\tDestiny Calls<\/p>\n

Website: www.mindmazeband.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor \/ Senior Columnist — Pennsylvania-based progressive metal band MindMaze have just released their debut album, titled Mask of Lies, independently. The female-fronted band, which was previously active under the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,1098,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-27937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-progressive-metal","9":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}