Resolve

The follow up to 2014's Surprise Of the Month, Back From The Edge, is MindMaze's new release Resolve. Again being released on the Inner Wound Recordings label(great releases from this label I must say!). MindMaze is led by siblings, Sarah(vocals) and Jeff(guitars) Teets, and Reverie the first track shows the matured beyond his years songwriting and playing of Jeff. A sweeping instrumental that does not overstay its welcome. Fight The Future, is a speedy power metal song that follows with great musicianship, and wow, Power Metal where I can actually hear the bass guitar, and it is not just for background effect. The disc does take off on the right foot with its first two songs.The synth of Drown Me is something I didn't expect, but the hammer-on/pull-off guitar riff is infectious in the beginning of the song. The main riffs of the song are definitely headbang worthy. Sarah's vocals have this midrange to them, that you can't find a similar comparison in metal. She has power and emotion in a complete package. While she may not have the biggest vocal range in metal, she knows what she can and can't do, and plays to her own strengths. The next song Signs Of Life you can watch here on .

I like the Progressive Metal leanings of Abandon a lot, the riffing from Jeff is great as well as the solo during the intro. At this point a lot of the faster songs seem similar in tempo, and Sarah's vocals. To those know uninitiated with the band might find this to be boring, but there is enough in each song that you can tell they are not playing the same thing over and over again. One More Moment starts with soft piano chords and Sarah's voice in a very subdued yet emotive all at the same time. When the song does kick in, it maintains a mid paced tempo throughout. This song has one of my favorite melodic solos from Jeff, and while he can shred, he is just like his sister, where he can invoke emotion with his instrument of choice. Another headbangining worthy riff comes in the form of True Reflection, which could have been on Back From The Edge disc. This is actually one of my favorite songs on the disc from start to finish. While the next track Shattered Self is one of the bands heaviest guitar wise I think, and while it seems like a straight ahead song, there is a lot of cool technical flourishes here and there, and not just in the form of a solo. Release is another sad and somber moment, but again Sarah rises to the occasion and uses her natural ability to sing with emotion. Simple acoustic guitars and her vocals, carry the majority of the song. Definitely not a filler, and it would be very wrong to dismiss it as such. At nearly twelve minutes the final track, The Path of Perseverance, is everything that makes MindMaze the band they are. Acoustic passages, melodic and emotional and thoughtful lyrics, and performances both musically and vocally, that as I said, invoke emotion. I do have to admit this solo on this song at almost four minutes is as epic as its length.

While I believe Back From The Edge was perfect candidate for the "Surprise Of The Month" category, at almost twenty minutes longer, Resolve shows that MindMaze can create a long-playing release, and at least keep this listener engaged. It took me a little longer to get into Resolve versus Back From The Edge, but it is definitely a grower which will remain a part of my future playlists, at least till they release their next one!