When a band cites pink Floyd, Death, Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra as influences, you know that you best be paying attention if you want to keep up. The latter two influences in particular suggest a fascination with jazzy time signatures designed to baffle and disorientate whilst the former obsession lies between the madness of Roger Waters and the furious, but intelligent death metal riffs of Chuck Schuldiner. Hailing from Prague, Mindwork claim to deliver all of these influences and more on their self-released effort ‘Eterea’, and it is notable that, for the most part, they succeed admirably. Have no doubt, ‘Eterea’ is a complex, spellbinding, even beautiful work the offers many surprises over the course of its nine tracks.
Opening track ‘enter eterea’ is a misleading, smooth, blues-styled number that would be just as fitting on a Steve Lukather album as it is here. Soft, dreamy, it recalls dimly lit nights strolling between Prague’s many stunning jazz venues before ‘perceiving the reality’ smashes the illusion with complex riffs and vocals that are shot through with rage and cynicism. Even here, however, the band are drawn to melody like moths to the proverbial, and some beautiful guitar work (which does indeed recall Gilmour’s fluid style) dominates the track after the initial barrage of deathly thrashing has expended its energy. It’s a brilliantly diverse track that shifts through its various moods and styles with skill and energy, the playing never less than exemplary and it leads straight into the equally elegant ‘stream of causality’, which opens on a contemplative note that stills the raging emotions of the previous track for a moment before plunging the listener straight back into the icy waters of deathly riffs and guttural vocals. Largely eschewing traditional song structures (there’s no obvious verse-chorus pattern to hang on to), Mindwork do a grand job of echoing the oddly jumbled feel of ‘bitches brew’, although the separate passages that make up the tracks are longer and more controlled than on that masterful, hallucinatory record. Martin Schuster certainly deserves praise for his wonderful guitar work – he has mastered not only the art of grinding riffs but also sublime, jazz-influenced solos – and his vocal work is well delivered also, although he sounds more comfortable in the clean passages than when unleashing his guttural side. Overall it is the multi-layered melodies that will draw the listener back – this is not technicality for the sake of it, but rather a group of musicians who have cleverly and deeply drunk from the many artistic waters that are present in Prague and returned music that is individual and redolent of that city’s gothic, lost atmosphere, still most prominently represented in the work of Kafka. Where the music turns metallic, it does so to emphasise the sense of desperation shot through the songs and, as with Miles Davis’ work, every musical shift has a purpose.
Changing tack once more, ‘mind renewal’ recalls the progressive work of Steve Thorne and Porcupine Tree with its juxtaposition of a lilting harmony and syncopated grinding guitars, although the band can’t resist shifting into heavier pastures just as you’re least expecting it, with even a touch of King Crimson’s deft, jazz-infused pastures cropping up towards the end. At just shy of eight minutes ‘Causality (the reconciliation)’ is the album’s lengthiest progressive epic and, with its funky fretless bass and whispered, paranoid vocals, it does a good job of recalling both Anathema and Pink Floyd within its wonderful melodies and the emphasis on this quality, despite several huge riffs, makes it one of the grandest and most well-realised tracks on display here, reflecting the band’s many interests and abilities over its lengthy, ever-changing run-time. ‘Reaping of waters’ has an opening that is pure jazz, the subtle guitar work and Filip Kittnar’s brilliant percussion work suddenly subverted by an avalanche of icy riffs and coruscating vocals, only to flip straight back again as if nothing has happened. It’s a difficult dynamic to pull off and Mindwork do a good job of doing so, making you eager to see them in the live environment when music such as this must surely come alive.
One of the shortest tracks on offer, ‘Stillness of the sea’ acts as a beautifully jazzy segue that draws the listener into ‘enthusiastic waves’ – a song that incorporates post rock, jazz and progressive metal into its genetic make-up without ever sounding over-complicated thanks to beautiful motifs threaded through the song, holding it together even as the separate pieces are stylistically diverse. The final track ‘Eterea collapse’ closes the album on a brilliantly innovative note, shifting between the warm jazz that dominates Prague’s many underground jazz venues and the brutal metal which hides out, deeper, within the suburbs. It proves an apt metaphor for the album as a whole, and the band’s experience of discovering the multi-faceted joys of music. There is no narrow minded genre loyalty here, just a simple desire to explore the boundaries of the various musical styles that enthused the musicians over the years, making this one of the most varied and intelligent albums to have come our way in some time.
Overall mindwork have done a remarkable job of absorbing the atmosphere and feel of their native city and incorporated it into an album that has a unique atmosphere and feel that is all its own. Intelligently written and beautifully performed it is a different take on the progressive metal genre, so prominent since Opeth burst into the mainstream, in that Mindwork emphasize the fluid, improvisational nature of jazz in their work, drawing metal into hitherto rarely trod pastures. Fans of Death’s technical progressions and Meshuggah’s syncopated rhythms will find plenty to admire here, although it must be noted that Mindwork are less heavy than either band, the melodies always demanding precedence against even the heaviest of riffs. However if you’re looking for an inspirational, creative and talented band who look to expand the boundaries of progressive metal, then Mindwork are a band you must explore.
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