MASTERMIND IV - UNTIL ETERNITY

Mastermind's fourth album finds them moving forward into the increasing amount of jazz rock elements into their prog sound, which until their Vol. 3 consisted basically of a combination of symphonic grandeur (a la ELP & Kansas) and metal prog fire, with some notches of AOR melodic drive. The jazz thing is clearly present and developed in 'Inferno' and 'Jubilee', as well as some parts of the closing namesake suite. Curious thing: the main lead guitar theme that kicks off the opening track 'Under the Wheels' is pretty Crimsonian, with a wicked metal twist, making it both spectacular and challenging. One way or another, the listener suspects from this moment that nothing can go wrong with the rest of teh album, and it's certainly true - paving the way for the jazz fusion splendour of 'Excelsior!' (IMHO, their best effort ever), this repertoire manages to portray a varied spectrum of musical ideas within the confines of Mastermind's prototypical pompous sound, as it is shown in 'The Tempest' and the namesake suite. Other tracks such as 'Dreaming' are more AOR oriented, allowing some fresh air in order to occasionally relieve the listener from the predominant sonic "oppression". Given the fact that the jazz factor becomes more obvious and more important, the rhythm section is given opportunity to shine in a more sophisticated way than in the band's previous albums (which were not really easy-playing, of course). Yet, it is guitarist extraordinaire Bill Berends who remains the frontman in the instrumental ensamble; always expanding himself on his normal electric guitar and using clever midi tricks in order to create a symphonic amalgam. A great album this is, so I regard it as an excellent addition to any good prog collection.