MASTERMIND

The most recent studio album at the time of this recording was 'Angels of the Apocalypse', which was the first time the band had introduced a female singer, in Lisa Bouchelle , and it was Lisa who appeared on the 'Prog, Fusion, Metal, Leather and Sweat' live release. She didn't have as much impact there as Tracy does here, who also sings on older numbers such as "Brainstorm" in its full 26-minute-long beauty. Having another singer definitely takes the stress away from Bill, who has plenty to worry about musically as it is, and this release captures some of his finest shredding to date. He is having a blast, no doubt, while Greg Hagen is providing a much firmer and rock-based bassline while also taking time to add additional melody. Then at the back there is Mr. Rich Berends, surely one of the finest drummers ever, a combination of Phil Collins, John Bonham, Bill Bruford, Keith Moon and especially Carl Palmer: the man is a legend.

This release may well be for fans only, and I would urge anyone new to Mastermind to try some of their other material first, but there is no doubt this is a worthy release and one I have enjoyed immensely. Talking to Bill he tells me he is going to be making more live material available in the near future and that is something to look forward to.

This is a very different recording indeed to the others, as they are concentrating both on the last album and the next one as opposed to material from the first four, as by now material was being written which would feature a live keyboard player as opposed to Bill triggering sounds. Also, by using Lisa as a singer at certain points (she only features on a few songs) it allowed them to move much more into Lana Lane territory, although even when she was using multiple guitarists they never ripped it up like Bill. Here the band are allowing themselves to produce a much fuller sound, with Mickey sounding as if he has always been there as opposed to only rehearsing with the band for three days before the tour. 10 songs with a playing time of 80 minutes, they are all of reasonable length but only "When The Walls Fell" is substantially over ten minutes long.

The Berends brothers are loving the change in band dynamic, and both keep pushing their respective instruments to the limit, so that one never knows where they are going to go and while there are times when they keep it subdued and even allow Lisa's acoustic guitar to come to the fore, it is when they are at their most bombastic and heaviest that they really shine. This is the live album of theirs to focus on, the one where the take the progressive rulebook and demolish it by sheer force of will and loud drums, shrieking guitar, dynamic bass, strong keyboards and great vocals combining with wonderful songs. Put on "The End of the World" and marvel in the harmony between Bill and Mickey as the song shifts and swoops like a swallow over a waterfall.

Mastermind were truly a band like no other, and now Bill has formed a new version in Brazil I can only hope that one day I will again catch them in the live environment as this is simply incredible (with strong production to boot). You may well have missed Mastermind first time around, but there is no excuse now with this so easily available.

I am guessing this was recorded to straight to DAT, as this sounds as if any postproduction was limited at best, and it is the sound which lets this down. Listening to this on its own is incredibly enjoyable, but there is no doubt that the sound is flat and pretty unmixed. One gets the impression that this was exactly what the audience heard that night, warts and all. There are times when it isn't quite right, when the guitar drops behind the midi, or the vocals waver, but none of this stops the guys from pulling out all the stops. Why they have never become a household name I will never know, and Mark Robotham of Grey Lady Down (later Thieves' Kitchen) proved he had real balls that night at The Orange when he sat down on the same drum stool recently departed by Rich Berends who makes Bonzo, Keith Moon and Carl Palmer seem quite sedate. Phil shows he is more than happy to prove his worth with some incredible bass playing while Bill cranks it up and rips the place apart with incredible guitar while also somehow keeping everything going on the keyboards as well.

This isn't the album to start listening to the band with, even though they were on fire that night with yet another incredible 24-minute-long 'Brainstorm', but for any fan this is essential.

Reading back on my review I said that the highlight the night I saw them was 'Brainstorm', and here it is again in its full 23-minute-long beauty. This isn't the Hawkwind song of the same name, but the suite which makes up a large part of their second album, while we also get most of the third album and the extensive 'Tragic Symphony' suite, which makes sense given it was their most recent release at that point. This is bombastic progressive rock, Emerson Lake & Palmer taken down a totally different path where Keith is somewhat restrained (although not always) with a strong hard rock approach. Phil tries to keep it together while Rich is all over the place, always driving the sound forward, and between them they provide enough of a structure for Bill to go nuts.

Released in 2008, but having only just come to my attention, this is an album I highly recommend to anyone who remembers just how powerful this band was in concert. Bill has now formed a new version of the band in Brazil where he has been living for some years, now if only they would come over here! This recording is now 25 years old, and is still breathtaking ' if you want to hear a prog band really rock, then look no further.

'Broken' starts with a synth pedal which makes one immediately think of 'Tom Sawyer', but it soon shifts into something middle eastern as Bill and Tracy duet and the guitars crunch in a way which makes one think far more of Sabbath than of a prog act. Tracy's vocals work well with Bill, and she has the power and control of Doro, rising over the top of the band with power and polish. The band had six studio albums behind them by the time of this recording, and although Tracy and Laura were both new at this point, they managed to find room to fit in well with the brothers.

If ever there was a band who deserved to break out of the underground scene then it was Mastermind. Rich comes from the Carl Palmer/Keith Moon school of drumming of hitting everything very hard, multiple times, and it is up to the rest of the band to try and push him into the background as he isn't going to go willingly. I had to smile when I got to track #5, as this is a take on 'William Tell Overture' and as a teenager I bought 'Southern Nights' by Glen Campbell just so I could flip it as his version was on the B-side: I prefer this though, with Bill showing just how adept he is on the guitar with plenty of flourishes and Laura determined not to be left behind. It is flashy, showy, but somehow it is contained, and one can imagine Rich having a blast as he powers around the kit.

There are a couple of covers on here, and one of them is Skip James' 'I'm So Glad' and they use the original recording (now in the public domain) as an introduction before they kick in, although it must be said their version owes more to Cream than the original. Bill shares the lead vocals with Tracy, and his guitar is cranked and powerful. Mastermind were a great band, and this EP is a great representation of that.

Mastermind headed for an even more ambitious sound in this second album, indicated by the addition of two long epics, ''Brainstorm'' and ''Triumph of the will'', together completing some 38 minutes of music.I do not know if it is a matter of inspiration or better recording techniques, but ''Volume two'' sounds like an album created by a mature band.With equal doses from RUSH'es lyrical yet powerful Prog Rock and E.L.P.'s Classical-drenched attempts, fronted by the combination of the midi-guitar and synthesizers, the American duo proposed a bombastic, fast-paced music with keyboard masturbations, grandiose atmospheres, Heavy Rock pounds and even some complex Fusion workouts, sounding similar to compatriots MAGELLAN.The addition of some instrumental and vocal melodies certainly helped the band's profile, while the multi-parted epics showcased the accomplished side of the group, displaying influences from Power Rock, Arena Rock, Classical Music and Fusion, eventually creating a very epic style of composing with cinematic soundscapes and frenetic instrumental offerings.The rather digital sound of the instruments still is a bit disturbing, but the tight compositions, the complex themes and the interesting tempo shifts are reasons to leave this factor behind for a while.The shorter tracks are pretty great as well, either coming from an E.L.P. matrix with a symphonic manifest of guitar, bass and keyboards, showered by Neo-Classical textures, or revisiting the powerful lines of RUSH and KANSAS.Two tracks are reworkings on the timeless documents of Richard Wagner (''William Tell overture'') and Gioachino Rossini (''The ride of the Valkyrie'') with Mastermind flirting with Neo-Classical Metal during these pieces.

A huge improvement over the mediocre debut.Bombastic mixture of Symphonic/Classical and Heavy Rock with jazzy inflections, I am very impressed considering the fact this album was recorded in late-80's/early-90's by a duo of musicians without the current recording techniques.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

"The End Of The World" opens in an intense manner (especially the drumming) that builds. It settles right down just before 2 minutes as the vocals arrive. It does pick back up as vocals continue. It's heavier before 6 minutes after the vocals stop. She's back 9 minutes in. "Perchance To Dream" opens with some nice guitar as the drums join in.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. I like this instrumentally a lot. "2000 Years" has a heavy guitar intro as the drums pound their way in and vocals follow.There's a Native vibe here and I like the lyrics. Cool song.

"The Lover's heart" has a great sounding intro then vocals arrive before 1 1/2 minutes.The instrumental break 5 minutes in is a highlight. "The Queen Of Sheba" has a good intro as well then the vocals join in. Relentless drumming as well. "With Dignity And Grace" is my favourite mainly because it's an instrumental but it's also very good. "A Million Miles Away" is a like a power ballad, in fact the band HEART comes to mind. "The Beast Of Babylon" is great because of that urgent and intense sound. Again the drums are relentless.

If this was all-instrumental i'd give 4 stars for sure. She's a good singer i'm just not into her vocals that's all.

As a reference, most of the music compares well to the Jan Hammer years of the Jeff Beck Group. Primarily guitar driven rock fusion tunes are the style of the band now, with Bill Berends' synth tinged axe out in front, th band plays a mean mixture of proggin' rock, with a bit of jazz.

Another high point is When The Walls Fell, which starts out as a guitar rocker, but turns into nice symphonic prog by the end.

It's not a perfect album, but it is a joy.

I bought this album thinking about finding something interesting, but since the first track I knew I was going into an album based on basic musical forms, without any artistic endeavor, with significant influences from bands like Lacuna Coil and Tristania but hey, this is not progressive.

The album can be entertaining if you do not have high expectations about progressive music, but in my case I decided to return to the record store and exchange it for something of Magellan that is not the best progressive band but at least I felt at home.

I have nothing more to say, simply because this album is not part of the musical genre that corresponds to this website.

The highlight is of course Bouchelle´s excellent vocals: strong, dramatic and very good. She has some pipes! She reminds me sometimes of another great american female singer, Lana Lane, but she has a kind of 70´s bluesy feeling too, like Babe Ruth´s Janita Haan. Guitar parts are also very well done and with a good dose of personality that set them apart from so many other power metal bands: Bill Berends is quite melodic and adds some fusion parts to the mix. Johansson´s typical speed of light synth solos are present as expected, but his overall perfomance here is more varied and interesting here than on most Stratovarius CDs.

All tracks are of very good quality. There are no fillers and the instrumental With Dignity And Grace is a good showcase of their tightness and tremendous technique. If I had to chose only one song as a highlight I´d pick up the powerful Million Miles Away, just gorgeous! Of course, for most progheads, the greatest moment on Angels Of The Apocallypse is their version for ELP´s Endless Enigma. Mastermind did a fantastic job here, as their style are so apart from each other: the result is, at the same time, respectful to the original version and also giving the song a different approach, with wonderful guitar parts absent from the ELP´s track. Production is also top notch.

Another fine piece of prog music I found here on PA. If you like the aforementioned styles go for it!

Rating: four strong stars.