Thoughts Betrayed - Recollection
Independent
Power/Progressive Metal
12 songs (48:51)
Release year: 2008
Thoughts Betrayed
Reviewed by Thomas

Hmm... After years of being dominated by the mainstream and core side of things, the American metal scene seems to be gathering strength again. 2007 saw excellent releases from Symhpony X and Cage, and in 2008 Suspyre have impressed us with their latest effort, Metallica at least got back on track with Death Magnetic, and Testament released the critically acclaimed Formation Of Damnation. Interesting stuff is happening in the underground too and Thoughts Betrayed is definitely one of the bands worth looking out for. The band consists of two members. They’re both educated musicians and guitar is being their main instrument, however, they also handle vocal, keyboard, bass and programming duties. They have even hammered together a guitar tablature-book for those interested in a challenge. The drums here are programmed, which sounds a little dry, but these guys know what they’re doing, and you won’t notice unless you really really want to. This is solid power metal with hints of progressive stylings, and lighter thrash. In other words you’ll get a mixed bag.

Music-wise this is top notch. Both of the guys are very skilled guitarists, and their mind-blowing solos are as clean as you’ll get it. You’ll also get plenty of tradeoffs with the keyboards and the dominating riffs are entertaining and the driving force behind Thoughts Betrayed. Although the leads are enjoyable, they’ve got to try to pour some feelings in there. We know you guys can play, but we don’t need a freakin’ sweep picking-lesson or whatever in every solo. Just listen to the solo on Retribution. Impressive? Yes. Entertaining? Hell no. The vocal work is good, but the annoying shifts between harsh and clean vocals takes some time getting used to. Now, enough criticism, these guys draw influences from all over the place and mixes it up into a bowl of melodic candy. European power metal such as early Stratovarius and Gamma Ray is well-present here as well as Symphony X, Nevermore and a touch of Outworld. If you’re a power/prog fan in general you should check these guys out. This is entertaining, aggressive, thrilling, diverse and impressive at the same time, and fans of the aforementioned bands shouldn’t hesitate at all. Their website is streaming the whole album, so check that out for samples.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
Everything is pretty solid here but Disorder and Visions are probably my favs.
Thomas quoted 78 / 100
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