ALBUM REVIEW: Hermit's Maze - State of Mind

HERMIT'S MAZE (Argentina)
"State of Mind"
(Independent)
Release date: July 20th 2019
Genre: Progressive metal, experimental metal, djent, progressive rock
Links:
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Spotify
BandCamp
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HERMIT'S MAZE is another ensemble that is a bit of a curiosity. Based in Martinez - a city in Buenos Aires, Argentina - this band of mystery was formed in 2016, and released their debut EP "Cyclothyminis" in August 2017.

The main ideology behind HERMIT'S MAZE is that only the music itself should be source to any thought or impression that the listener gets whilst listening to it, with no other visual aids than the album cover to guide them along. As part of this ideology the members in the band remain nameless, which really just makes the experience a lot more enticing.

Though this very superlative is already a fitting description for the album cover, it doesn't do the music justice whatsoever. The eleven tracks on "State of Mind" are all small pieces of musical art that together make up a total that is sheer excellence.

It is impossible to point out any individual tracks that stand out, as they are all impressive, dynamic and colorful compositions each on their own. Every instrument sounds clean and bright in the mix, and despite the fact that there are many layers of ambience and samples going on all at once, nothing ever falls out of balance.

"State of Mind" is only 33 short minutes long, and given the fact that the album features eleven tracks in total, I am in awe of how much life, variety and nuance HERMIT'S MAZE manage to incorporate into such short compositions.

★★★★★★★★★★

Tracklist:
1. An Unexpected Collapse
2. State of Mind
3. Duality (Original 2018 Mix)
4. Parallel Déjà Vu
5. Just.Re:Born
6. Crystal Box
7. Cognitive Dissonance
8. Fill Yours Shadows with Black
9. N1n3
10. Sea of Deafness
11. The Calm Before...

ALBUM REVIEW: Mitchell Mantell - This Is Your Opportunity EP

 

MITCHELL MANTELL (Australia)
"This Is Your Opportunity EP"
(Independent)
Release date: August 15th 2019
Genre: Progressive metal, nu-metal, djent
Links:
Facebook
Spotify
BandCamp
YouTube

From New South Wales, far east in Australia, comes another interesting solo project. The man behind it is MITCHELL MANTELL, a multiinstrumentalist and producer who has been making music and developing his own style since 2014. Originally into hip hop and rap music, his musical preferences changed drastically when he got his first guitar in the early years of his teens, and became very much inspired by giants such as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

After a couple of spins, there is no doubt that MITCHELL MANTELL's music is influenced by a lot of different types of music. His guitar work is apparently inspired by the likes of Vai and Satriani, but the guitars are really just a small part of a much bigger picture.

The "This Is Your Opportunity EP" consists of an intro and three tracks that I would like to describe as progressive nu-metal with hints of djent and metalcore. Not exactly an unintriguing combination of styles, and MITCHELL MANTELL indeed makes it work very well.

He does all the instrumentation on his EP, apart from a couple guests spots on lead guitars. The vocal duties are being done by Tre Pruitt (The Amplitude Endeavour) doing screams and growls, and Joshua Ratcliff (Resurgence) performing the clean vocals.

The EP will be released digitally on August 15th, and if you're into nu-metal, djent or modern metal in general I am sure you'll find something that appeals to your taste on "This Is Your Opportunity EP".

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Tracklist
1. Intro
2. In The Wind (featuring Rhyse Aquilina)
3. Reflections (featuring Jared Johnson)
4. This Is Your Opportunity

MITCHELL MANTELL:
- Mitchell Mantell, composition, guitars, bass and programming
- Tilly the dog, assistant

Guest performers:
- Tre Pruitt, screams and growls
- Joshua Ratcliff, clean vocals, lyrics
- Rhyse Aquilina, lead guitars
- Jared Johnson, lead guitars