Into the Swirl

This project rose out of pessimism no more no less… yes, this destructive negative state; or rather it was born and raised as an extension of the progressive metal wizards Pessimist who, at the time when this stint sprang up, had already moved beyond the more aggressive death metallisms that unobtrusively graced their first instalment, and had settled for a dreamier, more fusion-prone take on the progressive metal idea. To put more tangible names on this endeavour, we have the guitar players David Vanek and Martin Schuster from that same outfit joining forces outside their main occupation in order to vent out their suppressed aggression with a few more slabs of entangled death/thrashisms.

And the album reviewed here delivers exactly that, very aptly-stitched technical/progressive thrash/death the guys revealing not previously-shared passion for Death. However, it’s not only the late Chuck Schuldiner’s gang that has been courted; the calmer laid-back progressive passages are a nice reminder of another talented Czech outfit, Scenery, and there’s also this insistence on steady heavy, mostly mid-paced riffs which surprisingly deliver with their unwavering, not exuberantly flashy veneer. When the band speed up ("Essence Of Existence", "Wretchlessness") the ball falls into Death’s court (think the later period, “Symbolic”, “TSOP”) with rolling energy to spare, but watch out for the hectic jazzy Atheist-esque expletives on "Freedom of Mentality", and especially for the brilliant labyrinthine tech-thrash on "Parasite", the highlight here. Mentioning thrash, the latter plays second fiddle overall, but it steals the truly shining moments among which one can also place the varied complex progressive epic "On the Path to Oblivion".

Death surely claims the vocals those being shouty and semi-hysterical, very reminiscent of later-period Chuck, and their vociferous tirades further consolidate the resemblances between the two outfits. Yes, more than just a few moments from this opus recall the famed American(s), but at the same time this isn’t as overbearingly Death-y as say, the repertoires of Sceptic, or The Unchallenged, or Subconscious, or Sieged Mind, or later-period Moshquito… regardless of how dexterous the guys sound under the cloak of Death, it’s on the other more individualistic strokes that they truly shine, particularly the ones where they let thrash dictate the proceedings for a bit. Back to the Pessimist connection: there’s very little on display here to associate the approach to the father band; a few more laid-back dreamy sequences but even those are breezy and ephemeral at best, the guys traversing a newer trajectory, intent on bringing something different to the table.

Well, this desire lasted for just one spell as the sophomore is very close in both spirit and execution to the last two Pessimist recordings, the band giving up the originality idea. Both death and Death have been reduced to just timid hints, with cleaner vocals adding more to the not very exciting spacey progressive metal picture which also fails to match the higher standards of the father band’s output. So the band members’ minds don’t work in such mysterious ways, after all… and now that they’re no more, we can’t be sure what musings on pessimism and other not very constructive mental states they might have had in stall for us. Amen.

Czech Mindwork is one of those rare bands who seek to channel the later career of Death, and in many ways this debut album mirrors that style of philosphic attunement. I was also reminded in spots of bands such as Spiral Architect, Watchtower and Psychotic Waltz through the band's rather circular, acrobatic riffing tendencies. The title is an apt one, as I found myself further along the record's playtime I became more engrossed in the compositions, which are genuinely riff-tastic, moreso than Death albums like Human or Individual Though Patterns.

The band is characterized by their melodic, infectious hooks, busy bass playing and adventurous leads. The vocals can take a little getting used to, they have a filthy thrash tone to them which sounds a little crisp and unpolished in the mix (a little like older Voivod or Deceased), but you'll be paying so much attention to their riffs you will hardly notice. The band is not afraid to traverse a wide distance within a single track, for example "Parasite" is all over the place, part cerebral nightmare and part precision jam session. Other tracks are a little more reigned in, like "Inner Consciousness" and the melodic "Twisted Priorities". You will find very few bands that walk this path in recent years, and Mindwork has a great deal untapped promise even beyond what you hear on this debut. It's all in the name.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com