Mortal Mind Creation is Finland’s Celesty’s third full-length. The band has received mixed reviews throughout their career. For those unfamiliar with the band or perhaps those of you who need a refresher: on the debut release the band played a style that had a lot in common with country mates Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius. That is fast Power Metal with heavy usage of keys. Riffs were mostly palm-muted and there mostly for accentuating the vocal melodies and while the neo-classical elements of Stratovarius weren’t there the same style of keyboard usage and riffs were. The result, in my opinion, was somewhat successful. There were a couple of really strong melodies and generic but enjoyable songs on the debut but general opinion was that the band was too generic for their own good. The follow up attempted to change things up. The band added minor progressive elements with atmosphere building breaks as well as unconventional song writing compared to the first CD. Even harsh vocals made an appearance. The result was better received in some circles and even more poorly received in others (I personally prefer the debut between the two). Now, with Mortal Mind Creation Celesty has attempted to change things up again and the result this time is a lot more polished and successful.

Where as palm-muted riffs dominated the sound in the past, the band has taken a much more aggressive approach to the riffs that is similar to something you might find in a band like Mystic Prophecy. That’s not to say Celesty now play Power-Thrash, because they don’t, but certain sensibilities are there and what that means, to me at least, is much more interesting music. Actual riffage adds a much needed