Style: Melodic death metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: The perfect balance of emotion, aggression, and melody
Thoughts: I can't begin to tell you how many times I've listened to this album. This was my true introduction to extreme music. Sure I had heard Fear Factory before this, but this album is the one that converted me. Without The Mind's I, my musical taste would be incredibly different.
I'll be honest, the first time I heard the album I thought it sucked. I was used to listening to thrash and nu metal at the time. This sounded nothing like either of those, this was so incredibly different that my brain couldn't quite comprehend what was going on.
I almost sold it several times, because well... I never listened to it. It was so different than most of my taste that I just shelved it. I am so glad that I didn't.
The Mind's I is a masterpiece. Is it a bit samey in the riff and drum department? Sure, you could criticize it for that. Do I care? Not one bit.
Where someone may see simplistic riffs, I see melodic death metal riffs played with the intensity of the height of thrash. Mix in strong melodic tendencies and you get some of the most unforgettable moments in all of my musical collection.
Let's take a moment and dissect my favorite Dark Tranquillity song: Hedon. This song has everything. Not one note is out of place. Not one moment is wasted. It is a perfect song. One of the finest ever written in any genre.
Form the opening words of "Enter Suicidal Angels" to the increidibly emotive accompanying riff... I challenge anyone who thinks that extreme music cannot channel emotions outside of rage to listen to this. This is dripping with sorrow, loss, and all manner of melancholy. The riffs slowly build in intensity until they eventually break into a full thrash type beat that the album is littered with.
These riffs showcase both the bands incredibly songwriting prowess as well as the incredible vocal range of Mikael. The final lines of the song where he wails "We look at you afraid! To see what we really are!" are some of the most painful I've heard in music. God I love this song.
While the rest of the album does not reach those heights, it still is one of the finest melodic death metal albums I've ever heard. Is it a bit samey? If I'm honest, I have to concede that point. But I don't care... I truly don't. This is an album that I slowly got into over the course of six months, and it remains a favorite to this day. Many albums that I've revisited from my childhood have disappointed me, but not The Mind's I... This one continues to impress all these years later.
Written July 21st 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment