{"id":50914,"date":"2016-01-14T08:20:09","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T13:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=50914"},"modified":"2016-01-14T08:42:26","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T13:42:26","slug":"mindmaze-dreamwalker-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/mindmaze-dreamwalker-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"MindMaze | Dreamwalker<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Mindmaze\"Pennsylvania-based progressive metal band MindMaze followed-up their well-received 2014 album Back to the Edge<\/em> this year with Dreamwalker<\/em>, a limited EP featuring cover songs and a few other surprises. The seven-song EP contains the following tracks:<\/p>\n

1.\tDreamwalker \u2013 This is the same version that appears on Back From the Edge.
\n2.\tArena of Pleasure \u2013 Because why shouldn\u2019t a progressive metal band with a female lead singer cover a W.A.S.P. tune? And one from The Crimson Idol no less. This cover features a really powerful performance from Sarah Teets.
\n3.\tSlave to the Cycle \u2013 A new studio recording, this song is very much in keeping with the overall sound and approach on Back From the Edge.
\n4.\tPromises in the Dark \u2013 Continuing the less than conventional cover songs, this is a version of the classic Pat Benatar song. It\u2019s \u201cmetalled up\u201d just enough, but still has that AOR vibe.
\n5.\tRemember \u2013 This is an acoustic version of a song from MindMaze\u2019s 2013 debut Mask of Lies. It fits here as the calm before the storm, with the storm being\u2026
\n6.\tStrange Wings \u2013 Yes, the classic Savatage song, presented here with both male and female lead vocals, and sounding a bit more refined than the original. Draekon’s Chad Barnes lends his vocals to this one. Honestly, this cover alone is worth the price of admission
\n7.\tDreamwalker (duet version) \u2013 The EP closes with a new version of the title track, this one featuring none other than Urban Breed (Serious Black, ex-Tad Morose) alongside Sarah on vocals.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare that an EP release is as essential as a band\u2019s proper studio albums, but there\u2019s a lot to love on Dreamwalker<\/em>. The cover songs make the biggest impression, but it\u2019s hard to deny the chemistry on the closing version of \u201cDreamwalker.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed the two MindMaze full-length albums, you\u2019re going to enjoy Dreamwalker<\/em> as well. And if you\u2019re new to the band but like well-written Melodic Progressive Metal with strong female vocals, Dreamwalker<\/em> has a good enough mix of the new and familiar to make a great introduction to MindMaze\u2019s sound.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Lineup:
\nSarah Teets (v)
\nJeff Teets (g) (v)
\nRich Pasqualone (b) (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tDreamwalker
\n2.\tArena of Pleasure (W.A.S.P. cover)
\n3.\tSlave to the Cycle
\n4.\tPromises in the Dark (Pat Benatar cover)
\n5.\tRemember (acoustic)
\n6.\tStrange Wings (Savatage cover)
\n7.\tDreamwalker (duet version)<\/p>\n

Label: Self-released<\/p>\n

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

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Sr. Columnist — Pennsylvania-based progressive metal band MindMaze followed-up their well-received 2014 album Back to the Edge this year with Dreamwalker, a limited EP featuring cover songs and a few other […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":50927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[2317,11944,11943,1098],"class_list":{"0":"post-50914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-dreamwalker","10":"tag-mindmaze","11":"tag-progressive-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50914","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=50914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}