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Mindcrime: Checkmate The King

Hard Rock/Heavy Metal

3.0/5.0

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Red Cat Records
Words: Craig Hartranft  Added: 17.09.2014

I suspected as much when I was pitched the band for review. Mindcrime began as a Queensryche tribute band in Italy about five years ago. (If you check their Facebook page, they do a good job of ripping off the band's logo.) In recent years they've been working on original material, with Checkmate The King being their debut album.

Mindcrime: just hanging out.

The good news is Mindcrime doesn't intentionally sound like Queensryche within these eleven original songs. The bad news is that neither the band or the songs sound all that interesting. Most times the songs sound chunky, flat, and overly deliberate in their presentation like they were either over-rehearsed or put together by, well, a cover band. Until Once Upon a Day, I struggled to endure the first half of this album.

But there are some high points. A anthem or ballad, Once Upon a Day had an interesting arrangement using both acoustic and electric guitar, but yet still seemed laborious. A similar song is You Always Believed in Me which has this light start with guitar and voice. As for the rest of the songs, sadly, nothing really caught my attention or interest. However, across the album, the lead guitar work is quite good and interesting, probably the best thing about the album. Bruno Baudo' vocals not so much. He's adequate, but seemed to sound the same on nearly every song. And being a former Queensryche tribute band, I'm not sure if he has anything in common with Geoff Tate. This, in turn, makes me wonder if they're any good at being a Queensryche tribute band. Give the band kudos for their effort, but there's more work to be done before I'm willing to listen again.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

The good news is Mindcrime doesn't intentionally sound like Queensryche within these 11 original songs. The bad news is that neither the band or the songs sound all that interesting.

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Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]