CONSPIRACY IN MIND

Subtle? As a flying mallet!

Norwegian metal band Communic came together in 2003, two of the three members (Oddleif Stensland and Tor Atle Andersen) arriving from the band Scariot. They brought in bassist Erik Mortensen who had worked with Stensland's in a previous band and the line up was complete. It was another year after forming the band before they started work on their debut, having secured a recording contract to facilitate its release. This, their debut, finally saw the light of day early in 2005.

Since instrumentally the band is restricted to guitar and vocals on top of the bass/drum powerhouse, it is reasonable to assume that the room for diversity is somewhat restricted. Although there is an admirable depth and power to the music, this proves to be a valid assumption. The music here is heavy with strong melodies and passing hints of prog. The tracks are driven along by rapid drumming and thumping bass, supporting huge guitar riffs but little overt soloing. The vocals are well performed, often multi-tracked or harmonised with lyrics suitable for the metal domain.

To these ears, the most appealing song is the 10 minute "They Feed on Our Fear", a slower power metal number with particularly good singing (why do other bands not ensure they have a vocalist with this much ability, he is as valuable as a virtuoso guitarist?). The track weaves its way through variations in mood, although the changes are subtle rather than dramatic (if the word "subtle" can ever be used in reference to this type of music!).

On the similarly appealing "The Distance" it does sound as if keyboards are being used to fill out the sound, but as far as I can see, these are unaccredited. They are definitely there on "Silence Surrounds" too. Similarly, "Ocean bed" has some effective female(?) backing vocals for which no credit is given.

The tracks are all long, running to between 6 and 10 minutes. As suggested earlier though, there is a one dimensional nature to the sound which is rather at odds with what we tend to seek in these parts, and which renders the album as a whole rather less than the sum of the parts. Heard in isolation, much of what appears here is well performed, with a clear effort having been made in the writing and arranging of the songs. It is though the collective impression of the album as a whole which for me is its weakness. A decent first effort though.

"Conspiracy in Mind" is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian power metal act Communic. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 2005. Guitarist/vocalist Oddleif Stensland and drummer Tor Atle Gabrielsen-Andersen left their former band Scariot after the "Strange to Numbers (2003)" album to form Communic and they drafted bassist Erik Mortensen to complete the lineup. Mortensen had previously played with Stensland in Ingermanland. Mortensen is also a member of Dimenzion: Psychosphere.

The music style on the album is power metal with some thrash metal and some progressive metal leanings. The music is generally very heavy yet melodic. Communic are often compared to Nevermore and while there are many differences between the two bands, there certainly is some merit to that comparison. The fact that Oddleif Stensland´s voice at times sound very similar to the voice of Warrel Dane is one of the most obvious similarities. The 7 tracks on the album are generally very long, ranging from 6 to almost 11 minutes. Some of the tracks have what I would call slightly progressive leanings but the overall style is still heavy power metal.

The musicianship is excellent throughout and the tracks are generally well written and contain enough sections and twists to be entertaining for most of the duration of the album. The tracks are a bit too formulaic in the end though and I could do without hearing the vers/chorus part three times in each track, which also means that most of the tracks overstay their welcome by a couple of minutes. It isn´t a major issue but enough to keep the album from being really excellent. I know playing the vers/chorus parts three times is the regular way to do it, but here it just becomes slightly too predictable.

"Conspiracy in Mind" features a sound production courtesy of Danish producer Jacob Hansen. It´s powerful and clear, and overall decent sounding, but it´s not one of Hansen´s better productions. Upon conclusion "Conspiracy in Mind" is a fairly good quality debut album by Communic. A little rough around the edges but still a pretty powerful power metal release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

This Norwegian progressive metal band with the great cover artwork can be described as a calmer version of "Nevermore". The band's influence can especially be heard in the rather mellow and faceless opener and title track "Conspiracy In Mind" and the too repetitive "Communication Sublime". Many tracks in here have a couple of good ideas but it feels as if the band wasn't courageous enough to do anything they wanted or would have been able to do. The songs repeat the same patterns in a sometimes hypnotizing but sometimes also monotonous way and are often way too long. "They Feed On Our Fear" would be an amazing song if it would be about five minutes long but ten minutes are definitely too much to keep the tension, interest and quality high in here. To be honest, some tracks get quite boring after a while like "Ocean Bed". The same riffs and vocal lines are over and over repeated and come back and back again.

The band though always convince when they use softer melodies and write emotional and dreamy power ballads such as my favourite song in here which is "The Distance" or the slightly heavier and more diversified and almost equally amazing "History Reversed" that remind me a little bit of the calmer songs of the metal icons such as "Metallica" or "Iron Maiden". The difference is that those songs are interesting and relaxing but don't have the same intense moments and the same soul as the softer tracks of the other two bands. But as this is the band's first strike and the comparison with those metal legends not quite fair, I wouldn't criticize them for that. The epic album closer "Silence Surrounds" unites the very present "Nevermore" influences with the ballad parts and would be my third highlight.

In the end, the band simply copies too many influences from "Nevermore" and writes quite repetitive and overlong tracks that don't get to the point. There are three very good tracks but on the other side four rather boring and uninspired songs that pull the balance of the album down. In the end, I can talk about a relaxing and easy to digest progressive metal record that misses some unique elements and a proper style of the band. The band doesn't vary much and sounds on a more positive term more coherent than many other progressive metal bands but I feel they took the safe way and could do much better. The album is far from being perfect but enjoyable from time to time and a must have for any fan of "Nevermore" and their music.