MINDMAZE — Mask of Lies (review)

MINDMAZE — Mask of Lies album cover Album · 2013 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
adg211288
Mask of Lies is the debut full-length album by US heavy metal act MindMaze. It was released in 2013. MindMaze were previously known as Necromance and released a demo and an EP under that name before calling it a day. Necromance were reactivated in 2010, but in 2012 changed their name to MindMaze. Mask of Lies contains a few songs from the Necromance days as well as new compositions and is an entirely self-released effort.

The music is a mixed bag consisting mostly of melodic traditional heavy metal that quite often reminds me of Iron Maiden’s distinctive sound, albeit with the modern twist towards the sound that many metalheads these days simply refer to as melodic metal. There are also elements of power metal to be found, while the longer and more adventurous tracks push towards full blown progressive metal. Transitions between the different aspects of the sound are seamless, resulting in Mask of Lies coming across as a coherent and professional debut. Finally in Sarah Teets MindMaze has a great frontwoman whose melodic vocals suit the music perfectly.

The end result is that Mask of Lies is a solid album, but one that I feel shows the potential of better things to come more than anything else. While some songs, such as This Holy War and Dark City (Dreaming This Life), are really creative and the album’s most progressive tracks, others, particularly the older songs, are merely enjoyable, competent tracks. It’s pretty clear to me that MindMaze have improved as writers when comparing the old Necromance stuff to the new MindMaze stuff, so as catchy as tracks like Never Look Back and Breaking the Chains are, I can’t help but think Mask of Lies would have been an even stronger debut if the band written a few more new songs for it. The exception would be Destiny Calls, the closing track, which even features use of a flute, and is an easy highlight as well.

If Mask of Lies is anything to go by, we’re going to be hearing some really special stuff from MindMaze in the future. They nearly got there this time, with the crowning achievement being Dark City (Dreaming This Life). If they produced an album that maintained that level of quality, which would also have them becoming a fully fledged progressive metal act, which is where Mask of Lies shows their true talents to lie, then they’d be one of the most exciting new bands on the metal scene. For now, a great album tier rating is deserved.

84/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org/mindmaze-mask-of-lies-t2823.html))
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

SURFACING Groove Metal
DEVILSKIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Summerlovin Electronicore
ONE MORNING LEFT
Buy this album from MMA partners
For Death And Eternity Metalcore
ANYALA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Gaia Metalcore
RELATIONS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Decievers Deathcore
ORACLE SPECTRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Relations - Schwarzes Blut - 2020 - Lyric Video
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
RELATIONS - SHELTER (Official Video)
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
RELATIONS - NIGHT LIGHTS (Official Video)
RELATIONS
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
ORACLE SPECTRE - VOIDSAYER (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO) [2023]
ORACLE SPECTRE
Bosh66· 22 hours ago
WOMBMOTHER | ORACLE SPECTRE (LYRIC VIDEO)
ORACLE SPECTRE
Bosh66· 22 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed