ACTORS IN A PLAY

MIndgames is a neo prog band from Belgium , releasing so far 3 albums, this is their second one from 2006 named Actors in a play. The band needed some time to release a second album, after the good but little noticed first released in this field, Mindgames coming with a superb second album. To tell the truth I was very pleasent surprised and the result is very good. I know this band since 2008, I've listen then to this album and with the time I decided to check aswell their last one from 2010 aswell. Actors in a play is a very polished neo prog album with excellent musicianship and great ideas. As far as I see here this might be considered a concept album about different characters, each one present in each piece, and finaly got together in the last song Both Sides of the Show. The album is very well crafted, the skills of the musicians is awesome, the ideas are very strong and better that half the neo prog bands available on the market. The band grow a lot since their first album, with this Actors in a play they reach the peak of their career and for sure they reach a higher staus in neo prg field.Every pieces is a winner here, not a single weak moment, pieces like The Benefit of Anxiety or the superb The statue are perfect examples of this brilliant album. The guitar arrangemnts are almost perfect who interluded very well with the keyboards. The album is melodic full of catchy tunes, brilliant musicianship, and above all an excellent vocalist who doesn't try to sound like a Fish or IQ clone.Sometimes the voice is very theatrical , but fits very well in the context of the piece, also he has a very british tone of voice. The music is complex, much more complex and up tempo then on many neo prog releases, a lot of twists and turning moments in instrumental passages, not very often I can see that , specialy when I'm talking about a neo prog band, when many times the music is flat or linear most of the time. Excellent keyboard and guitar solos and some complex rhythms and beautiful breaks give to this album a lot of varation. So, Mingames and specially this album must be one of the best examples of greatness and intelligent progressive rock music from today. To me this is an excellent album full of surprises, highly recommended to all serious prog rock listners. One of the best neo prog albums ever created, at least from last decade. Great band that needs a wider recognition because they worth every second.