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Mindflow - Mind over Body (2006)



Artista: Mindflow
Álbum: Mind over Body
Año: 2006
Género: Metal progresivo
Duración: 79:57
Nacionalidad: Brasil

Lista de Temas:
1. Crossing Enemy's Line
2. Upload Spirit
3. A Thousand Miles From You
4. Just Water,You Navigate
5. Chair Designer
6. A Gift to You
7. Hellbitat
8. Follow Your Instinct
9. Hide and Seek


Alineación:
- Benilo Herbert / lead vocals
- Rodrigo Hidalgo / guitars, backing vocals
- Rafael Pensado / drums, backing vocals
- Ricardo Winandy / bass
- Miguel Spada / keyboards, backing vocals
Guest musician:
Andreia Salinas / violin



Debo decir que, luego de escuchar "Destructive Device" empecé a escuchar el álbum sin mucha (nada) expectativa, al mismo momento en que buscaba comentarios publicados en la red, y en ambos casos (tanto lo que leía y lo que escuchaba) me decía que este era un muy buen álbum totalmente diferente a "Destructive Device", menos agresivo, no tan fuerte, menos heavy, mucho más sutil y más progresivo, aunque siempre cantado en inglés y sin ningún vestigio que esto es brasilero (ya dije que eso me suena a renegar de sus orígenes y no me agrada mucho), pero musicalmente esto está mucho mejor que lo que había escuchado hasta ahora, mucho mucho mejor!. Sin dejar de ser aguerrido, tenía mucho más la veta de Pain of Salvation (debo decir que este disco mucho tiene de esta banda)...
Pero mejor empecemos por el principio. Esto ice Wikipoedia del disco:

Mindflow es una banda brasilera de metal progresivo. Fue fundada en 2003 en São Paulo... La semilla de esta banda fue plantado hace 10 años, cuando dos colegiales brasileros Rafael Pensado y Rodrigo Hidalgo se encontraron en Australia, se hicieron amigos y tuvieron la idea de crear una banda. Ellos tocaban en bandas de covers pero decidieron crear su propia música. Mientras tanto en Brasil, Ricardo Winandy aprendía a tocar diferentes instrumentos hasta que se decidió por el bajo. Al mismo tiempo, el joven Danilo Herbert estaba cantando con una serie de bandas locales mientras aprendía todo lo que pudo acerca de la técnica vocal y teoría musical. Rafael y Rodrigo vuelven a Brasil un año más tarde y se encuentran con Ricardo, este se les une. Hicieron audiciones para encontrar un vocalista, allí encontraron a Danilo. Luego de esto, decidieron llamarse Mindflow. Lanzaron su primer álbum titulado Just the Two of Us... Me and Them al año siguiente. Este álbum resultó ser un éxito en ventas para la compañía discográfica. En 2006 lanzaron su segundo álbum, Mind Over Body.
Wikipedia


Este álbum consta de casi 80 minutos de metal fresco, infinidad de cambios de ritmos e intención que transmiten y plasman recuerdos y sentimientos en su música, el nivel alcanza en este trabajo es muy bueno, increíble está la voz y sentimiento impuesto por Benilo, que demuestra que tiene una gran voz, y la verdad que el sonido que le agrega el teclado cambia completamente el resultado (les aclaro: luego de este álbum el grupo se mudó a EEUU y no lo dejaron entrar al tecladista, por lo que se quedó afuera de la movida).
En definitiva, termino de escuchar el disco y esto suena como otro grupo, no es el mismo Mindflow que luego grabaría "Destructive Device", esto es metal pero tiene muchísimo de progresivo, meten unos arreglos muy bien armados y realmente complejos. La verdad es que me cambió la onda del grupo complemtante, y este disco sí que me resulta muy agradable.

Vamos con alguno comentarios, hay varios comentarios publicados en distintos lugares y todos hablan muy bien del disco, lean un poquito (aunque no encontré críticas en castellano):

Como é de boa parte do conceito nacional, estamos acostumados a enxergar muito bem o que vem de fora, sempre menosprezando o que temos aqui dentro do nosso próprio país. Parece uma utopia que nunca terá fim, isto se aplica a quase tudo mas em boa parte a arte, seja ela visual ou musical, com isso deixamos trabalhos verdadeiramente interessantes e cheios de energia e criatividade dedicada do nosso povo passar despercebido. No Heavy Metal não é muito difícil ver uma pessoa se declarando fã de inúmeras bandas internacionais, e tecendo criticas e comparações com o nosso mercado, com isso que perde? O público ou as bandas nacionais? A reposta é uma só: os dois. Com isso deixamos de ter um cenário musical sólido com bandas estáveis, assim como ficamos na mão de bandas internacionais que pintam e bordam quando se trata do seu material, CDs, camisetas, todo o resto do seu merchandise e também em relação aos shows com preços exorbitantes. A outra coisa que nos faz refletir, se a coisa continuar do jeito que está como será o nosso cenário da música pesada depois que as grandes bandas acabarem? Eis então que podemos perceber o surgimento de uma nova safra de bandas e entre elas está o MindFlow! Banda paulista, que durante anos batalhou até lançar o seu primeiro disco em 2004 o Just the Two of Us... Me and Them. Desse ponto em diante surgiria uma das bandas mais criativa, complexa e inovadora do cenário nacional. Seu primeiro álbum lançado de modo independente trazia a formação de Danilo Herbert (vocal), Rodrigo Hidalgo (guitarra e vocal), Ricardo Winandy (baixo), Miguel Spada (teclados) e Rafael Pensado (bateria, percussão e vocal). Um grupo de grandes músicos que no primeiro álbum lançado de forma independente, mostraram para que vieram de modo único, logicamente que no primeiro álbum se percebia as influências de inúmeras bandas principalmente o Dream Theater por causa do lado progressivo. Mas ao mesmo tempo já demonstravam estar em busca de uma sonoridade única, não querendo ser conhecidos como o Dream Theater brasileiro, todos os músicos conseguiram mostrar um pouco do seu lado próprio e em partes já se nota isso.
Após este breve resumo, vamos falar exatamente do segundo álbum da banda o Mind Over Body. Com um nome bem subjetivo “mente sobre o corpo” o MindFlow não apenas encontrou o seu lado próprio musical como rompeu a barreira do simples cd físico, este que vem em um slipcase, dentro de um digipack, contendo dois encartes, sendo um o encarte com as letras e o outro uma história em quadrinhos (em inglês) da música Follow Your Instinct. Isso não torna apenas o álbum mais rico em si, dando também um ar muito mais complexo para o trabalho, fora tudo isso que foi citado ainda tem o ideograma que esta na capa é o ch’i em chinês e o ki em japonês. Ch'i (pronunciar "chee" e doravante escrito "chi") é uma palavra chinesa usada para descrever "a energia natural do Universo." Esta energia, apesar de chamada "natural," é na verdade espiritual oi sobrenatural, e é parte de um sistema metafísico, não empírico. Não obstante, os crentes no Chi fazem afirmações que podem ser empiricamente testadas. Proponentes afirmam provar a existência e poder do Chi curando pessoas e fazendo truques mágicos, como partir um pau com a ponta de uma folha de papel, ou como partir um tijolo com o pé ou a mão nua. Boa parte dos enigmas por trás do álbum desvendados, partindo agora para as canções em si, como dito anteriormente o MindFlow segue uma linha musical direcionada para o Metal Progressivo, se no primeiro álbum havia andamentos, rápidos, lentos, pesados, leves e uma enorme gama instrumental, em Mind Over Body isso é aumentado ainda mais. Por isso que talvez esse seja um dos álbuns menos indicados para se conhecer a banda, pois por mais que ele circule em cima de um único tema espiritual/físico as músicas seguem linhas diferentes, com muita variação musical tantos no instrumental, quanto no vocal. A música de abertura Crossing Enemy's Line já demonstra a cara de como vai ser o álbum, começando com um instrumental enigmático e inúmeros efeitos de teclado, depois caindo em algo mais orgânico mas extremamente variado, com muito groove e quebras de tempos insanos, abrindo caminho para um vocal mais sujo e rasgado de Danilo Herbert, que logo depois cai em no seu timbre mais bem usado entre o agudo e grave, consiste em seus doze minutos de música, quando todo o instrumental para efeitos de teclados tomam toda a música até a volta climática, sendo que nesta canção também pode-se ouvir claramente a influência do Metal Progressivo dos anos oitenta. Logo após o fim bombástico da primeira canção, entra a Upload-Spirit com uma guitarra bem grave e linhas rítmicas de bateria acompanhando, dando alas a um instrumental bem contagiante em todos os sentidos junto de um coral que parece de monges, nela já se pode sentir o lado progressivo mais direto e com o vocal mais limpo, numa linha diferente da primeira canção mas dando continuação, em algumas partes as guitarras de Rodrigo Hidalgo lembram demais as afinações insanas de Tom Morrelo (ex-guitarrista do Audioslave) sendo que essa música tem uma carga bem mais dramática. Thousand Miles From You é a primeira balada do álbum, que corta um pouco dos climas intricados, enigmáticos e sombrios das canções anteriores, a grande diferença é que se saca uma grande diferença nessa balada, tem um lado mais para o Pop com um toque de Blues, os grandes destaques ficam para os vocais, o piano de Miguel Spada e o latente e harmonioso baixo de Ricardo Winandy. Logo após outra balada Just Water, You Navigate está canção é um pouco diferente, pois percebe-se de cara que ela é uma típica balada de Metal Progressivo, o baixo Ricardo e a bateria de Rafael Pensado carregam a música, tanto no ritmo quanto ao que diz a linha instrumental que esta mais variada, com algumas viradas aqui e ali de bateria e escalas de baixo, sendo que logo após os quatro minutos a canção ganha um ar mais pesado e desesperado por assim dizer. Chair Designer trás de volta o ar pesado e psicodélico do álbum, entrando com um ritmo constante do instrumental, logo após caindo em uma linha mais variada, até a entrada dos vocais e ficar tudo muito intricado, nela os riffs de guitarra são bem audaciosos e pesados, onde os teclados estão bem altos e mostrando desde um lado mais técnico até o lado mais tenso da música com certeza uma das melhores linhas de Miguel enquanto esteve na banda, pois nos dez minutos de música ele demonstra uma variação de timbres e rítmica muito interessante. A Gift To You da continuação ao lado mais depressivo e apreensivo, com uma linha bem fria e triste de piano a voz de Danilo parece simplesmente deslizar pelas notas, ainda em uma parte dando espaço para um pequeno solo de violino que casou perfeitamente com a idéia e harmonia central da música, que termina um singelo coral. Hellbitate surge de modo nada modesto, com alguns efeitos acompanhados de uma guitarra pesadíssima, os vocais cheios ruídos, indo para um lado mais progressivo e agressivo, nela a bateria se sobre sai de modo formidável não só pelas quebras de tempo, mas por viradas muito bem criadas que caem como uma luva em todos os doze minutos da canção, não seguindo uma única linha, sendo está uma das músicas mais complexas do álbum pois ainda cai em um clima, mais lento aonde as linhas de piano imperam de modo magistral, dando mais uma vez espaço para lindíssimo solo de violino, que logo após dá espaço para que a canção cresça e fica pesadíssima novamente, terminando está apenas com as vozes cantando e alguns efeitos. Follow Your Instinct é a canção mais longa com quase dezesseis minutos de duração, complexa e de difícil absorção, pois além de conter um conceito aonde é contada uma história, têm o seu lado musical que é extremamente variado, quebrado, pesado, acústico e cheio de groove principalmente as linhas de guitarra e voz. Para fechar o cd com chave de ouro a sombria Hide and Seek, canção que começa com linhas de piano e violino que chega a lembrar antigos filmes de terror, logo após se tornando ainda mais obscura com a entrada dos outros instrumentos, os vocais de Danilo começam bem sussurrados conciliando com a estrutura da música, um clima arrepiante floresce nesta música conforme vai rolando a audição sendo essa música meio que um Dream Theater com um toque de King Diamond. Como é de costume no estilo, algumas bandas pedem para que seus trabalhos mais complexos ou variados sejam ouvidos três vezes no mínimo para que se emita uma opinião, no caso de Mind Over Body ouça no mínimo cinco vezes, pois este não é apenas um cd complexo musicalmente, mas também fisicamente e tudo se encaixa numa gama musical extremamente focada e que a cada audição percebe-se elementos novos em cada canção parecendo ser um mar infinito de criatividade. Este álbum é nota 10 por ser um segundo trabalho de uma banda nova, que fugiu do comum tanto no cd físico quanto no lado musical
Tiago Data Venia

When I was younger, there was this movie called The Boys From Brazil. It was about a group of Nazi's who had some DNA from Hitler and had cloned a bunch of them to see if they could produce another Adolph for some ungodly reason. Anyway, after hearing the band Mindflow, visions of that movie danced through my head. What if someone took samples from Dream Theater and tried to do the same thing? In Brazil yet!
Well they are not clones, but they are a very similar band that has put out a rather unique disc called Mind Over Body. With a real flair for what makes music such as Dream Theater, so unique, Mindflow has taken it even a bit further. With a bombastic attitude and a flourish that lends itself to Andrew Lloyd Webber as much as the progressive rock field, Mindflow delivers a package that engulfs you with its elaborate musical diversity.
From the beginning of Mind Over Body, the band spins a tale of majestic proportions while taking you on a musical journey that travels through many a different genre before letting you settle at it's final destination. Weaving a tale that may be considered a concept album, but in my opinion more a group of related topics, the story is one that is left open for many interpretations.
But it is the music which tells the true tale of this band. From the opening song "Crossing Enemy's Lines"the band starts you off with a twelve minute dose of what these guys are all about. A crunching guitar that is the main focus in this scorcher, is interwoven with the keyboards in such a grand fashion that the piece seems to engulf you with sound as it soars and swells with the dazzling brilliance of these musicians. It is hard to fathom why this band is not at the top of everyone's list with such great work as this.
But that is not the only facet to Mindflow. Sure there is enough loud guitar work to reward any metalhead, such as the fierce playing on songs "Upload-Spirit" and "Hellbitat", but there is also the side of the band that takes you through such dynamic soundscapes that belong more to the world of Broadway as with the beautiful "A Gift To You" and the equally touching "Just Water, You Navigate". Both of these songs have that mellow feel of either Pink Floyd or Andrew Lloyd Webber, with the later song being one which swells to a musical climax that would fit nicely into a spectacle such as Webber's Phantom of the Opera.
I think these guys must have been kept hidden down their in Brazil. They are just emerging as a force in the world of progressive music. The many faceted approach that they throw at you is one that is breathtaking in its delivery and a truly magical experience for the listener. This is like being immersed into the music. It enters through the ears but will rattle you from head to toe.
I like the fact that they incorporate the keyboards into their music with much more prominence than other bands of this genre. They have reached the balance between the hard driving guitar sound and the melodic with some very fine keyboard work by Miguel Spada. He gives the band an undercurrent that makes these guys flow like a boat on the river of rock and roll. He can also deliver some of the most beautiful work as his piano creates a lush backdrop on such work as the tender and yet regal "Thousand Miles From You". He has a keen sense of the dramatic and uses it to perfection on this whole album.
Vocalist Danilo Herbert has a range that any singer would envy. From a deep snarl to soaring operatic qualities, this boy can do it all! He is the voice of Mindflow and that voice will carry the band all over the world sooner or later. He is a dynamic singer that will be a force in the world of rock and roll sooner or later. Luckily I can say that he is in my collection sooner than most.
The group's secret weapon is their guitarist Rodrigo Hidalgo. He has the technical ability to rival most anyone in his field and has the gift of knowing just how to use it. The work that he does on this album will only solidify his place in the music world. This guy's style is one that is as fiery and powerful as the bands music demands. He keeps the metal edge to their music that makes it so appealing. Like there contemporaries, he makes them as much at home on the stage at let's say Ozfest as well as with the Philharmonic Orchestra.
The rhythm section of Rafael Pensado on drums and Ricardo Winandy on bass keep the other guys on the straight and narrow. While Rafael is not the flashy player like a Mike Portnoy, he is just as important and gives the band what it needs without overdoing it. With all the complex time changes and variety in music, Rafael keeps them in line and is as steady as any drummer out there. Ricardo use of the bass is very solid. There is a lot of times when he is sitting on the sidelines but when he is needed, he answers the call. When the band is in full tilt heavy rock mode, Ricardo is the guy who carries the beat. He has a hard pounding style that comes through much more strongly when the band is ripping it up.
Together these guys have produced a sound that is familiar yet completely their own. If you have not heard of them yet, you will. Progressive rock has added a Brazilian chapter to its book and this one is a page turner!
Scott Ward

After surprising the Prog Metal world with their very good debut in 2004, Mindflow return in 2006 to release a much more complex album that really pushes the boundaries of Prog Metal. This album takes a few listens as there is so much to digest, it is impossible to take it all in on just one listening.
The vocalist, Denilo Herbert, is probably one of the best singers in the genre. He has a natural sounding voice and is able to sing the slow tracks with a lot of emotion and passion. The next second he is singing from the top of his lungs and reaching the high notes without any strain. He also doesn´t imitate other vocalists which is a huge plus. Definitely a unique talent!
Rafeal Pensado uses great fills in his style of drumming and reminds me a bit of Mike Portnoy. The great thing with this band is that they are all fantastic musicians, excellent adventurous keyboards from Miguel Spada (Lots of great piano sounding keyboards too), great clean guitar tone from Hidalgo and a bass that is not lost in the mix but stands out and is a pleasure to listen to on headphones.
This album must be heard on headphones to really be able to appreciate the work that went into this recording. If you like progressive metal with lots of different time changes or music that pushes the boundaries, this album is for you.
A Masterpiece!
Greg

Coming from a part of the world that is now becoming one of the hotspots for metal, Brazillian progressive metal group Mindflow is one of the more promising melodic metal bands I've heard in recent times. As my first introduction to this band's music, I had little to no idea of what I would find with Mindflow's second full-length studio album 'Mind Over Body', but after having digested it throughly, I am left torn by my opinions. On one hand, the band presents a very appetizing, proggy sound and stellar performance. However, the band's biggest problem lies in the fact that they sound far too much like the genre's existing giants to really take a unique shape of their own.
Going well-past the hourlong mark and featuring many tracks with lengths passing ten minutes, there's no denying that Mindflow are seasoned composers and performers. Led onwards by the strong, trained tenor voice of Benilo Herbert (a voice who sounds close in comparison to fellow Brazillian Edu Falaschi of Angra) the album makes it's label of prog metal well founded from the first moment on. With the opening mini-epic 'Crossing Enemy's Line', Mindflow unfold 'Mind Over Body's greatest track and strength from the beginning, instantly giving a powerful, if derivative journey that while at times quite effective and beautiful, does seem to cycle through sounding like a couple of Mindflow's more obvious influences.
This is where 'Mind Over Body's greatest weakness lies. While the band proves themselves to be highly proficient and skilled, they come across sounding like a bastard child of progressive metal's two greatest acts. While the proggier and heavier instrumental moments could easily be compared with anything Dream Theater has done, Mindflow seems to be a band that also shelters underneath the umbrella of Pain of Salvation as well. Many of Benilo Herbert's vocal stylings seem to suggest he has used Daniel Gildenlow as a vocal model with which to develop under. While the band does work well underneath the shadow of these two giants, as do the majority of progressive metal acts, giving the band a bit of a rough foundation to begin with.
Another issue (albeit to a lesser extent) is that of the consistency in the musical quality. The album is marked throughout by recurring motifs and ideas to give a sort of latent cohesion to the work, but the moments of brilliance are interspersed with drawn out sections that really feel like they could have been cut down in length, in order to preserve some of the lost interest. While each track is bound to have moments that jump out and really amaze, the songs themselves generally feel quite scattered, despite having plenty of awesome musical ideas to use.
A masterpiece that certainly 'could have been', Mindflow really deserves a commendation for a brilliant technical performance and having some moments that easily rival those of Dream Theater or Pain of Salvation. However, the spectres of these two prog metal giants seems to loom over Mindflow's head, refusing to let the band really develop their own unique style and sound. Until then, the album remains a good piece of work, but something that truly has been done countless times before.
Conor Fynes

Mindflow is a band hailing from the São Paulo region of Brazil, much like other Metal giants as Angra and Andre Matos, as well as the lesser-known (but still fantastic) Thalion. The band's second release, entitled Mind Over Body, which is available for free download on their official website, is a must-have album for any who either 1.) love free stuff, 2.) love progressive metal, or 3.) both of the above. It's 9 tracks long, and features close to 80 minutes of intricately-structured Progressive Metal in the vein of bands like Lalu and Circus Maximus, with a few surprises.
The album starts out with 'Crossing Enemy's Line,' a 12-minute juggernaut of a track with a main riff that seriously knocked me off my feet when I first heard it. Remembering back to the times when I would listen to Dream Theater almost exclusively, I thought to myself that I had most certainly heard it before. It's quite impressive how they seemingly recreated the same tone that was featured in the song 'A Change of Seasons.' Even with tracks like 'Hellbitat' and 'Follow Your Instinct,' the tone can be heard.
The album as a whole is a bit of a rollercoaster of fast and slow, aggressive and soft, long and short, and the like. The longer tracks are generally faster, more aggressive, and in some places more chaotic, showing once again that a band can balance out the metal and the progression. Riffs are clearly more distorted and guitarist Rodrigo Hidalgo relies a lot more on the lower strings to thicken them up and make them stick. The basswork is also pleasantly audible but not overbearing, and bassist Ricardo Winandy uses his instrument to build on the riffs, giving them more of a chunk in some places.
Common on this album is a good bit of electronic influence, much like what Fates Warning does during their current era, and it adds a good deal of flavor to the already-solid foundation that has been laid down. The keyboardist is an important member of any prog group, and when given enough creative freedom can incorporate some very interesting sounds into the mix. Miguel Spada's involvement features a variety of sounds and effects, ranging from your typical organ and synthesizer sounds to those previously-mentioned electronic elements that make the album that much more awesome to listen to.
Vocalist Danilo Herbert, probably the tallest member of the group, has a voice to fit his height. He's very skilled at putting soul into his vocals, and isn't in any way monotone. His highs and mids remind me a good deal of Lalu's Martin LaMer and Daniel Gildenlow even, and he can certainly belt those lyrics out as well as the next guy, but with progressive metal comes lots and lots of variation--not just between songs--and he handles this with incredible proficiency, changing from mids to highs, back to 'breathy' lows, then up to highs again almost at the drop of a hat.
My biggest beef with the album, however, is the sheer length. Being an avid fan of the genre it's not a big issue for me, but for someone new to progressive metal it can be a bit much to absorb all at once. Because of its length it takes repeated listens to get used to.
Other than that, however, the album is a must-have in any progressive metal fan's collection. Get to it immediately.
Parallel Delirium

I've just heard MINDFLOW's 2006 work Mind over Body and I have to say, I'm at the same time impressed and dissapointed.
I'm impressed (favorably) because the band is certailny a terrific, outstanding, amazing group of musicians. The vocals are nothing to write home about but the guitars and keys are just great. The level of playing that Hidalgo and Spada can achieve is demonstrated by the complicated textures, solos and the variety of styles that they go over in this release. No doubt the band is one of the great surprises in musicianship in the progressive-metal world. Even better to know that they come from Brazil, a land that has given us good power-prog-metal acts before (ANGRA), even though MINDFLOW is much more progressive in a typical way.
I'm impressed by the production values. Not only is the recording perfect and the sound of the disc something to really applaud; the band has also made an effort to provide its fans with one of the best booklet/cases, with beautiful artwork and even a whole song (and the album's concept) put into comic in a second booklet. The band takes the fans and its art seriously, and I really like that.
But there are some dissapointing elements to this album. And I find them where most people find this album's strengths: in the complexity of the music. I've given my opinion a million times: I love to hear technical displays of prowess and intricate structures, but not at the expense of coherence. I've hear Mind over Body more than a few times and I still think that it's very difficult to grasp any kind of structure in some of the songs. The musicians (very good nes, I say it again) lose themselves in change after change after change, never allowing a song to just, well, flow (pun intended).
Now, it can be said that some of prog's best moments have arrived thanks to challenges to the traditional structures and to completely difficult-to-get songs. I agree. But I can't sense any sense of symphonism here: this is not something like Close to The Edge; I also can't sense any multi-sectionism a la Supper's Ready or A Change of Seasons (metallic rhapsodism?). I can't even detect the broad, far-reaching maps of many post-metal songs; what is even more deciding, I can't find riff to riff structures like in DEATH. Just to focus in the genre, PAIN OF SALVATION (wihout a doubt the band MINDFLOW tries to emulate) has never failed to have a sense of coherence, structure, song-craftmanship. Yet MINDFLOW has. And that is what ultimately dissapointed me about them.
The music? Complex progressive-metal with touches of DREAM THEATER, QUEENSRYCHE, but mostly, PAIN OF SALVATION. At times the band sounds too much like Gildenlow's creature. But without the art of the song that the Swede masters possess.
All in all, a good, if flawed album, by a band that I'm sure can very easily deliver a 5-star album in the future, should they choose to let the music flow and save some of the complexity for future releases.
Recommended for: PAIN OF SALVATION fans, progressive-metal fans with a love for very progressive music...
... progressive doesn't always mean how many solos and sections a song can have, you know.
Teodoro GomezdelaTorre R.

Dense, this is the word for this album. The music is heavy, intricated, complex, melodic sometimes and very, very creative. think of a Dream Theater without all those noodlings and instrumental display of individual skills: that´s Mindflow. Unlike many bands in this field Mindflow works for the music, with no ego battles and everybody doing it fo the overall result. Yes, they have their own style and they are very good on that. This is the kind of album you have to hear more than twice to really get their music. The production is absolute perfect and the band has surely some of the best muscians in the brazilian Prog metal scene (or the world for the matter).
My CD came in a digi pack case with a beautiful artwork and lavish booklet with pictures and words for the songs. It also came with a 14 page comic book that tells the story of the song Follow Your Instinct. And there is 79+ of music. All these for only 15 reais (about 7 amercian dolars!) on the store! What a bargain! I almost could not believe my luck.
Anyway, this is really prgressive! to get all the subleties and details you´ll have to listen to this record many times. It is a fantastic travel through complex music that is also very good and focused. it is quite demanding indeed, but you´ll be rewarded in the end. If you´re into prog metal you can´t miss this one.
Tarcisio Moura

Coming from a part of the world that is now becoming one of the hotspots for metal, Brazillian progressive metal group Mindflow is one of the more promising melodic metal bands I've heard in recent times. As my first introduction to this band's music, I had little to no idea of what I would find with Mindflow's second full-length studio album 'Mind Over Body', but after having digested it throughly, I am left torn by my opinions. On one hand, the band presents a very appetizing, proggy sound and stellar performance. However, the band's biggest problem lies in the fact that they sound far too much like the genre's existing giants to really take a unique shape of their own.
Going well-past the hourlong mark and featuring many tracks with lengths passing ten minutes, there's no denying that Mindflow are seasoned composers and performers. Led onwards by the strong, trained tenor voice of Benilo Herbert (a voice who sounds close in comparison to fellow Brazillian Edu Falaschi of Angra) the album makes it's label of prog metal well founded from the first moment on. With the opening mini-epic 'Crossing Enemy's Line', Mindflow unfold 'Mind Over Body's greatest track and strength from the beginning, instantly giving a powerful, if derivative journey that while at times quite effective and beautiful, does seem to cycle through sounding like a couple of Mindflow's more obvious influences.
This is where 'Mind Over Body's greatest weakness lies. While the band proves themselves to be highly proficient and skilled, they come across sounding like a bastard child of progressive metal's two greatest acts. While the proggier and heavier instrumental moments could easily be compared with anything Dream Theater has done, Mindflow seems to be a band that also shelters underneath the umbrella of Pain of Salvation as well. Many of Benilo Herbert's vocal stylings seem to suggest he has used Daniel Gildenlow as a vocal model with which to develop under. While the band does work well underneath the shadow of these two giants, as do the majority of progressive metal acts, giving the band a bit of a rough foundation to begin with.
Another issue (albeit to a lesser extent) is that of the consistency in the musical quality. The album is marked throughout by recurring motifs and ideas to give a sort of latent cohesion to the work, but the moments of brilliance are interspersed with drawn out sections that really feel like they could have been cut down in length, in order to preserve some of the lost interest. While each track is bound to have moments that jump out and really amaze, the songs themselves generally feel quite scattered, despite having plenty of awesome musical ideas to use.
A masterpiece that certainly 'could have been', Mindflow really deserves a commendation for a brilliant technical performance and having some moments that easily rival those of Dream Theater or Pain of Salvation. However, the spectres of these two prog metal giants seems to loom over Mindflow's head, refusing to let the band really develop their own unique style and sound. Until then, the album remains a good piece of work, but something that truly has been done countless times before.
Conor Fynes

MINDFLOW are a Prog-Metal band out of Brazil and this is their sophomore release. I quite liked their debut but on this one they've created a dense and complex work that isn't nearly as melodic as their first album. So yeah 80 minutes of it makes it tough to digest. I've owned this for a couple of years but have kept putting off the review because I knew it would be a battle to break it down. Ambitious is an understatement I suppose when it comes to this detailed concept album.There's even two thick liner notes to wade through.
"Crossing Enemy's Line" has a great sounding intro then it gets heavier before a minute.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in and they aren't normal. Not the most melodic music i've heard either. It does settle 9 minutes in with regular vocals then settles even more after 10 minutes with fragile vocals. It does pick back up before it ends. "Upload Spirit" opens with some intense music including the vocals. It's heavier after 3 minutes then it settles 5 minutes in with piano and intricate drumming before it kicks back in. "A Thousand Miles From You" features fragile vocals and piano to start then a beat joins in.
"Just Water,You Navigate" starts to pick up a minute in with vocals. It kicks in after 4 minutes and passionate vocals follow. "Chair Designer" hits the ground running and we get piano too.Vocals also join in then it settles back some as the tempo continues to shift. "A Gift To You" features soft vocals and piano. Some guest violin half way through. "Hellbitat" kicks in hard quickly. Spoken words as the heaviness continues before 6 minutes.Vocals are back then it settles after 7 minutes followed by piano then vocals.Violin too on this one. It kicks back in after 10 minutes. A calm ends it. "Follow Your Instinct" sounds great with that dark intensity. It does settle though before 1 1/2 minutes. Spoken words after 2 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in hard. Another calm after 9 minutes. It's heavy again after 11 minutes. I don't like when they shout out the words. "Hide And Seek" opens with piano and violin then it turns fuller quickly. A calm with vocals a minute in then it kicks back in.
This just isn't the style of Metal I enjoy. I can appreciate it certainly but it's not something I want to play.
John Davie

One of the most complicated prog albums this year! After at least ten listens you realize, that this is masterpiece! It's much more complex than the first one, but it has even bigger replay value. Quality of compositions is pure evolution from the first album, but you really realize this after many concetrated listens! Mindflow's style is veary unique, they show some influences of POS(vocals), DT(complexity) & Fates Warrning(vocals -> better), but realy nothing too obvious! Music is like high speed rollercoaster, with 3 stops (great ballads!), lots of interesting rythm changes & interesting almost non repettitive compositions at all. If you are fan of Dream Theater & Pain Of Salvation, this CD si a must have. If you aren't, this is still veary veary good album. :)
MP3Killer

In my opinion, Mindflow is the best prog-metal band from Brazil! Mind Over Body is a great improvement of their debut, Just The Two of US Me and Them. The songs are longer and the complexity is -very- high. I see this album as a combination of Dream Theater's Awake and the perfect vocals of Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation).
"To let go... The hardest task in our lives. Letting go the things that we love or yet, the things that we deslike to the point we can't feel anything more. This album is about that... Letting go. Know life is impermanet and hold it on onlu brings us pain."
The digipack format is beautiful, with two very well done booklets. One of them is a cool HQ with the story of a man who lives the concept of the album.
I really recomend this album for prog-metal fans, it's a must-have!
Peter Duarte

The moment I heard the very first minutes of "Mind Over Body" I knew I was facing a somewhat decent DREAM THEATER clone. Decent as in they keys and guitar work are really good but do they really need to stick to the Labrie-esque vocals?
Around 7 minutes in, at last, I heard a very nice riff and then... modified vocals? It just keeps going this way for the entire album. For me, this album consists of good parts, bad parts, horrible parts... all mixed together. I'm giving them a 3 star rating for the good work on the keys and guitar (which I find is the only good thing in here) and I hope they create something more unique on their future works.
L. Duncan

Wow! This is INTENSE progmetal ! Theres no resting your head here, complexity goes and goes. And cos' of that, this is a hard album to get into. But of course, once you take the time and listen carefully, this one blows your mind. Everything is so perfectly executed, a perfect balance between all instruments,lots of KBs,which I prefer, with some electrononic "effects" here and there; great singer with great range, not only in tone, but also in texture and style (rapping sometimes ala D. Gildenlow). This is an album you must hear over and over because is so condensed. All the ideas thrown in here could easily make up two albums from another band, but not here, there is no filler whatsoever. They're from Brazil, so Id say this is the Angra of Progmetal
Omar Ello

This album is excellent. It's full of exciting melodies, puzzling rhythm changes and heavy riffing. To me it's one of my favorite albums from 2006. The heavy tracks often remind me of Dream Theaters Awake album: these songs are intense and inventive. There are also some tracks that are more relaxed... and they are really beautiful. I think this band is the best newcomer of the last five or six years (certainly in the prog-metal genre). If you can get your hands on a copy of this one and if you like DT, PoS, ..., be sure to buy it immediately!! I'm anxious to know what these talented guys will come up with in a few years (when they have a bit more experience and hopefully some more budget so that they can upgrade the production-standards a bit).
Keep up the good work, Mindflow!!
BDTF

The best realese of 2006! Mind Over Body is a masterpiece in every sense of the the word. I have to say that am very proud of these guys, as a brazilian and as a progressive metal fan. This is fantastic complex and beautiful music.
Mindflow make use of rhythm changes and complex passages like no other band i already heard. Of course this characteristic makes the album not so easily acessible to everyone that's not into progressive music, but with a few listens you can clearly see the magnificence of this perfect work. "Crossing Enemy's Line" and "Chair Designer" are the highlights of the album, while in the ballad "Thousand Miles From You" the vocalist Danilo Herbert shows his talent and his strong influence of Daniel Gildenlöw in his vocal techniques. Like already said in the previous reviews, you can see a huge influence of Pain of Salvation and Dream Theater in the work of this guys, but without any shade of doubt that this is very very very original and unique.
Perfect work, indicated to Pain of Salvation and Dream Theater fans or any proghead who loves progressive metal out there.
Keep it up, Mindlow!
Benjamin Breeg

Mind Over Body is one of the best albums of 2006. Slot this one next to Mastodon's Blood Mountain and Zero Hour's Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond as the progressive metal highlights of 2006. This album sees the band push the boundaries of prog metal, there is so much going on here. I've never heard anything like. The complexity of it all is mind blowing, but importantly this complexity does not overwhelm the music as these guys are brilliant song writers.
The album has some interesting and unique experimentation with electronic music and synths, something which was on there debut as well but they have really upped its use here. This all adds to the atmosphere created on this album.
The music on this album is a mix of the musical virtuosity of Dream Theater and Symphony X, the melody and vocals on Pain of Salvation, with the sense of insanity of Psychotic Waltz and Watchtower.
The ballads on this album, 'Thousand Miles From You' and 'A gift To You', are really beautiful with some stunning piano work and classical instrumentation. And they provide a nice breather from the craziness of the rest of the album. 'Just Water, You Navigate' is another slowish song, which slowly builds and bursts into melodic glory at the 4 minute mark.
But it is the other six tracks on the album, which all exceed the 9 minute mark that are really impressive and dare I say groundbreaking. These songs are stunning, and really there is no way I will be able to go through each one a give a description. These songs 'Crossing Enemy's Line', 'Upload Spirit', 'Chair Designer', 'Hellbitat', 'Follow Your Instinct' and 'Hide and Seek', I know it's a cliché but they really do need to be heard to be believed. There complex arrangements and the frequency of the odd time signatures make for quite an adventurous listening experience. The melodies are brilliant and there are some absolutely brilliant riffs that will stick on your head for years to come.
Mindflow created a brilliant debut with Just the Two of Us.Me and Them, but they have exceeded their debut in every aspect with Mind Over Body. These guys are destined for big things, the future of prog metal is here
Karlo Jelincic

Para terminar, ya comenté que a mi el metal progresivo no me va... y menos si es de una banda brasielra que canta en inglés, pero cuando desaparecen los clichés del género, cuando hay sutilezas y buenas canciones, tratadas con cuidado a pesar de la potencia impuesta, cuando se arman bien los arreglos e impera el buen gusto por sobre la agresividad, cuando sucede todo eso seguro que me gusta. Estos chicos brazucas demostraron que pueden hacer álbums muy buenos como éste, lástima que imprimirían a su carrera otra dirección.
Pero les repito, les recomiendo este álbum, sobretodo si gustan de grupos como Pain of Salvation.

mindflow.bandcamp.com/album/365
myspace.com/letyourmindflow
www.mindflow.com.br







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"La desobediencia civil es el derecho imprescriptible de todo ciudadano. No puede renunciar a ella sin dejar de ser un hombre".

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