BLAZE – Overmind (2016)
New Italian outfit BLAZE are releasing today, February 23, their debut album “Overmind“. No, this is not a solo release from singer Blaze Bayley (ex Iron Maiden), this is a fresh four-piece delivering a inspiring delightful blend of Prog / Melodic Rock through 11 mature compositions, very melodious and accessible.
There’s many definitions for Prog Rock, in the case of Blaze their style lean more to the Rock side, with many Melodic Rock, AOR moments.
Think some kind of TOTO’s more elaborated stuff, mashed-up with a little Rush commercial era.
Just listen the excellent “Better World” plenty of groovy bass lines, driven guitars, stabbing keyboards and extremely melodic verses. You can tell lead singer / guitarist Andrea Meschiari is strongly influenced by Steve Lukather, and he is a darn fine vocalist for sure.
Also in this vein are the melodious midtempo “Wings of Hope”, the elegant ballad “Daydream” and the poppy “Will I Ever Find a Way” with some Mr. Mister on it.
Blaze explores their more proggy side with the haunting “Save Me (Glaring Omniscient Day)”, the elaborated “The Voice of Mankind” or the key changes of “The Moving Labyrinth”.
But “Overmind” is quite ‘song oriented’, again offering a velvety Toto-like tune in “Waiting For”, recalling the Lukather & Co stuff from the early ’80s. This song even has a LA Session / West Coast AOR wonderful feel.
Blaze surprises you in many ways with their debut “Overmind”. Tagged as Prog Rock, this is in fact a really good Toto-like record rich in great melodies and catchy songs.
It’s truly impressive the songwriting quality, the mature musicianship and, remarkably, the terrific bright production. Seriously, the album sounds awesomely.
Coming out of nowhere and almost with zero promotion, Blaze’s “Overmind” is one of the best debuts you’ll hear this year.
Highly Recommended
01 – Beyond
02 – Wings of Hope
03 – Better World
04 – Daydream
05 – Lines of Dawn
06 – Save Me (Glaring Omniscient Day)
07 – The Voice of Mankind
08 – Will I Ever Find a Way
09 – Waiting For
10 – The Moving Labyrinth
11 – Through the Wind
Andrea Meschiari – Vocals, Guitars
Davide Laino – Keyboards, Synths, Backing Vocals
Marco Zenesini – Drums, Backing Vocals
Francesco Zenesini – Bass
BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMBR832
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