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Mindflow - With Bare Hands Review

by Matt Hensch

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Well, this may be one of those back-to-their-roots efforts, but I mean that in a bad way. I was expecting a progressive metal/rock agenda similar to Pain of Salvation or Dream Theater, but that's apparently not the plan according to Mindflow. "With Bare Hands" is basically a rock album; there's no zinger or zany metaphor in my arsenal to get that point across, unfortunately. The first implication of said-claim is the song writing, which presents itself in a radio-friendly pattern of verse-chorus structures, something this band does very poorly. The second implication of said-claim is Mindflow's universal lack of originality, and I immediately hypothesized that these guys have clearly not read Individualism For Dummies yet. Here's "With Bare Hands" in a nutshell: boring rock. Again, no punch line.

Sadly, that's it. Sixty minutes of it too. Mindflow doesn't overdub its material in ridiculous electronica, nor does the musical vehicle run into unnecessary experiments; it's just vapid rock music. There are fourteen songs (fourteen too many if you ask me) that all follow the same equation, which involves starting with a bland riff, adding dire percussion, presenting a directionless verse that builds up to the chorus, and then the chorus takes utter control of the music, and that's it. The guitar work usually wobbles between the stop-start crap dominating the alternative rock scene and some higher-up riffs one could pin on Dream Theater's behalf, although it should be noted the rock tint is the law. The choruses, like most of the record, are poorly written and unmemorable. Terrible things come in bundles, I guess.

So instead of progressing, Mindflow is regressing. That's right kids: I have coined a new sub-genre of metal! Songs are hard to write and require thought, so why try? Verses and choruses are awesome and always work, even though the band ends up sounding like Creed on "The Ride" and "Walking Tall" because the mindless rock nonsense is so dominating in contrast to the album's other colors. Technical ability? Not here dude. Life, passion, energy, maybe a hint of zest? Sorry, check back never.

In all seriousness, there is no progression here, not in any universe I know of. Ironically, Mindflow deserves some credit because this Brazilian faction occasionally shines through this dull escapade with fantastic soloing and Danilo Herbert's vocals, which are usually phenomenal. However, the relentless fiasco deserves nothing more than a solid panning by and large. Maybe a noteworthy riff or chorus emerges every ten minutes or so, but still a very feeble and deeply misguided offering overall.

Mindflow - With Bare Hands

Rating:3.0

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