Mastermind are : Bill Berends: guitars, midi-guitar, bass Rich Berends: drums, timpani, percussion Jens Johansson: keyboard and synthesizer Additional musicians: Bob Eckman: 5 string bass Mike Mironov: tabla & percussion The tracks are : 1. On the Road by Noon 6:15 2. The Approaching Storm 7:15 3. Tokyo Rain 6:36 4. The Red Hour 1:36 5. Decide For Yourself 5:23 6. Sudden Impulse 4:59 7. Sky Dancer 5:53 8. When the Walls Fell 13:28 9. Excelsior! (Japanese bonus track) 4:53 Mastermind began in 1987 as a vehicle for the Berends brothers' creative musical aspirations. Spanning over a decade that saw four acclaimed studio albums released worldwide; international touring in Japan, Europe, and the USA; performing with Rush, Joe Satriani, John Wetton, Fish, and many others; Mastermind steps into their 2nd decade by taking a bold new step: a totally instrumental album that features Jens Johansson joining the band on keyboards. Bill Berends first met Jens Johansson in 1987. Bill was totally amazed by Jens' playing and upon introducing himself learned, incredibly enough, that Jens had already heard of Mastermind through shred-guru Mike Varney. A few years later Bill again by chance ran into Jens on the Internet and the two began exchanging email, traded discs, Jens came out to Mastermind's gigs in Manhattan, and slowly the musicians became acquainted. After a 1995 Mastermind performance at the Bottom Line in NYC, an exec from Mastermind's US label suggested that Bill and Jens (who was in attendance that night) should record something together for an upcoming compilation disc, they agreed to give it a shot, but schedules conflicted and the idea was put on hold. But it didn't die. Eventually, even though the label exec and his compilation were long gone, it evolved into "let's do a whole album" which Bill thought should be instrumental after hearing Jens' "Heavy Machinery" album. In 1996 Jens recorded a demo piece Bill had written and the decision to do a full instrumental album was agreed upon. But Jens had since found work with the Finnish metal band "Stratovarius" and their schedule was keeping him busy as Mastermind was about to embark on a busy year of touring, so it wasn't until late 1997 - 10 years after that first chance meeting - that definite plans to record together were scheduled. In January 1998 Jens was in the studio with Mastermind recording all new music Bill had written specifically for this album since returning home from touring. The result is "Excelsior!" For me, Excelsior! is mainly a guitar orientated album, although having said that, let me point out there are some beautiful and stunning keyboards from Jens. But it's the breathtaking guitar work from Bill (I sure am a sucker when it comes to guitar players and great ones at that) thats in the forefront and what an exciting player he is too. Not forgetting his brother Rich, the drum work is so crisp and precise and technically first class. Mastermind incorporates within thier music classical and jazz influences throughout the entire album, all of the tracks are extremely complex, have beautiful rhythms and have so much energy and emotion flowing through them that as soon as you get to the end of the album, you want to listen to it again, and again. To be honest, I couldn't find fault with any of the tracks on this album, but a few of my favourites are the dramatic 'The Approaching Storm', the beautiful 'Tokyo Rain', the seductive 'Decide For Yourself' and the epic 'When The Walls Fell', which is my favourite. The longest track on the album at thirteen and a half minutes, with it's wonderful bass rhythm, stupendous drums, percussion and breathtaking keyboards and guitar instrumentals. This track also has quite an upbeat tempo to it and at times really rocks, at other times it's very subtle and atmospheric, but then throughout this track there are many changes in direction, mood and tempo. Excelsior! is a class album. Intense, dramatic, highly complex and overall beautiful and full of emotion. The production is absolutely first class and the musicianship is outstanding. The songwriting is of the highest quality and for me, this is one of the finest releases this year. There are a few influences that come to mind, but that does not necessarily mean that Mastermind sound like any of them, for me it's just the same feeling I get when I listen to such bands as Focus, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa and Liquid Tension Experiment. Highly Recommended!!! Released in Europe by InsideOut / SPV: IOMCD 033 / SPV 085-31402 CD And in Japan by Avalon / Bandai: MICY-1073 Japan incl. bonus track Website : http://www.k2nesoft.com/mastermind/ |