Who remembers the good old days when rock was rock and pop was pop? Now, everything is split into a myriad of sub genres. Elegy for example, are listed as progressive power metal. This Dutch band were formed back in ’86 but it took them until ’92 to issue their first studio album.
State Of Mind is their fifth release, which came out in ’99. This copy is a reissue from those wonderful people at Night Of The Vinyl Dead. After the epic Disney Princess intro we jump straight into Visual Vortex. A great full on melodic metal masterpiece with Ian Parry showing what a huge set of pipes he has. Next up is Trust, also my favourite track. Superb, choppy, off-time riff with a nice hook and melody. Beyond slides on in next and it’s a fully penned Ian Parry tune, and the melody is high on the agenda on this one with a big shoutout to Henk Van De Lars for a killer solo. A nice, big, fat chord intro to Shadow Dancer before chugga’s drop in to drive the song along. The hook and chorus are superb and this is about as commercial this album gets. Side 1 closes out with Aladdin’s Cave. The intro and main riff have a very Arabic vibe and is quite dramatic. I would bet my last dollar that Dio-era Rainbow were a huge influence on these guys.
Over to Side 2 we go and the title track awaits. It’s more of the same, that’s really not a bad thing as the songs are very strong, well written, and well executed. Destiny Calling follows and it’s a showcase for Parry’s vocals. A dramatic power ballad intro before we get to the big hook and chorus. The short instrumental track Resurrection follows, and I would have just made it part of Loser’s Game. The beginning of which reminds me of Awake-era Dream Theater, in fact the whole groove does. Suppression is next up and this is more of a straight up hard rock song with a simple chugga riff. Last track Sweet Revenge is a bonus track for this version and you wonder why it wasn’t included on album. A nice fast driving groove, and the main vocal melody reminds me of early Alcatrazz.
Cool record.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
