Who
would have thought that Bulgaria actually had anything whatsoever
to offer in the world of progressive metal? With the impressive
album "Shade Of Fate", the Bulgarian band PANTOMMIND
definitely proves the doubters out there wrong. PANTOMMIND
has been around for over ten years now, and they released
the self-financed album "Farewell" in 1999, but
since the market in Bulgaria is as closed, as it is, the
band never made any impact outside of their native country.
Recorded
at home in Bulgaria in the spring of 2004, "Shade Of
Fate" is an impressive affair, from first note to the
very end of this 50 minute long trip through all shades
of what progressive metal should all be about. There are
those who believe that a progressive metal band is one of
those Dream Theater / Queensryche clones that the music
scene is so full off - well, that might be right to some,
but to others, it's also about creating something unique,
or at least blending things together in a new fashion that
hasn't really been done (or at least not overused) before.
With "Shade Of Fate" PANTOMMIND succeeds on all
aspects!
From the melodic prog-metal world, (as exemplified by opener
"Shade Of Fate", with it's slight inspirations
coming from bands such as Vanden Plas, Fates Warning or
Poverty's No Crime), to the more technical side of things
(just listen to the instrumental "Spectastral",
and even a quite dramatic (almost cinematic approach), PANTOMMIND
for sure delivers the goods. To top it all - in order to
be a unique entity - PANTOMMIND infuses their metal with
an Eastern European atmosphere, that never becomes too folk'ish
or too ethnic as such, but simply embraces the music like
a warm layer of emotion.
Besides
the incredible song writing of PANTOMMIND, vocalist Tony
Ivan has got to be the shining point of the entire ensemble.
His voice is soft, sweet and emotional, but also dramatic
in approach, and is a focal point of "Shade Of Fate"
if any. But with that said, one would definitely not like
to discredit the other musicians either, as they all deliver
amazing performances. Guitarist Pete Christ has a very nice
tone and a lot of feeling is put into his guitar playing,
and when he goes for the more acoustic sounding passages,
the sweet sound of the guitar strings are just breathtaking.
Drummer Drago is an important part of the band, with his
dry, precise sound, and very tight playing - he never over-do
things, but works very well with the feel of the songs.
The same goes for bassist Dido that delivers a strong performance
and backs up the band with his good bass playing. Sunny
X is one of those keyboardists that doesn't really interfere
much with the sound of the band, until you suddenly hear
his calm piano pieces or his explosive neo-classical solo's
coming through and reminding us why keyboards are such an
integral part of this genre, and why it's one of those musical
elements that just lifts everything to the nth level. Awesome!
Following
the release of "Shade Of Fate" in early 2005,
the band ran into problems with Italian label Lucretia Records,
that simply put didn't pay the band the money promised in
the contract. Thus the band is now under a worldwide deal
with US label Sensory Records. Currently the band is recording
the second full length album, "Lunasense", which
we hope to release in fall 2006.
PANTOMMIND
is a band for the future - a band not necessarily sounding
like anyone else, but also a band that fits really well
within the style they've chosen to play. Bulgarian progressive
metal shouldn't be disregarded anymore, as "Shade Of
Fate" easily deserves to find its place among the best
releases of the genre.
Check
out the band's homepage for more detailed information and
to listen to some samples.
Band homepage
