A WORK OF ART

There are many improvements in songwriting but the most important thing about AWOA is a slight change in style. I don't think that Mind's Eye is just a heavy metal band with occasional prog feel... they 3rd is far best they ever did and it's a progressive rock record to please all art rock and heavy metal fans with great singing, easy listening compositions, heavy rock parts and beautiful and clear sound. Not many instrumental parts or playing exhibitions though but who needs it all time? Some of exelent tracks: Courage Within, A Moment Of Honor and Domino.

What I like about Mind's Eye is that, while maintaing its musical identity, each album sounds different. On 2006's Walking on H2O it's anthemic hard rock with huge choruses, on 2007's Gentleman's Hurricane full-blown metal. 2002's A work of Art is, well, a work of art-rockish hard rock. Production is not as dense as 2006 or 2007, but by no means weak or cheap (as on some DYI works), you could almost feel being in small recording room with the band, hearing each instrument clearly.

Distinct features of Mind's Eye are complex drumming (band's leader is a drummer), often shifting rhythms within a section of a song, I call it "stuttering" (verse, for example, may contain several melodic parts), excellent "normal" commercial rock-sounding vocals. Drummer also plays synths, but they, while adding depth to music, are mostly in background.

Highlights of A Work of Art from melodic standpoint are energetic opener Courage Within that you could tap danse to, with a gorgeous if brief tap solo, mid-tempo Moment of Honor (epitome of the band's style, if you will) and Eye for Eye (such a swe-eet solo and strings-like effects on the after-chorus), laid-back nostalgic Kindred Soul (with a gorgeous pastoral beginning and ending section) and Shallow Water.

Overall, I would say the album has a 50 percent strike rate, placing it above average (I usually pull 3-4 songs from a typical album). It's a relief to hear, once in a while, among all over-blown stuff out there, a proggish album of such pleasant soulfullness.