DREADFUL MINDS – Love Hate Lies (2014)

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The first incarnation of DREADFUL MINDS born in Germany during the ’90s with the band recording several demos, releasing an EP and recording a full album in 2005, but due to internal troubles, never released.
They regrouped recently in 2010 and returned to the studio to deliver their first full length CD “Love / Hate / Lies“.

The first thing that impress in Dreadful Minds’ debut is the excellent package, a high quality digipak featuring an amazing drawing filled with emotions: a young woman looking afraid and desperate with a death Tarot card in his hand, all with a dark city background.
And then the music: “Love / Hate / Lies” is a pretty classic mixture of melodic hard rock and melodic metal with a progressive (always rocking) feel akin Balance Of Power, Queensryche and a bit of Fates Warning.
But Dreadful Minds has a very own style, with an updated sound yet inspired by the ’80s / ’90s.

Indeed, perhaps due many of the songs on offer here where written several years ago – as example, “Caught In Illusion” dates back to their very first demo in 1995 – most the material in this CD feels very classic.
The aforementioned track is also a quite accurate representation of Dreadful Minds; sharp riffs, steady rhythm section and lots of melody. It’s a quite heavy song, yet, shortly after the midpoint there’s a softer breakdown for a guitar solo and a melodious vocal part.
On the other hand, “Left”, one of the new tracks composed when the band recently reunited, is more quick paced and with a modern twist. It’s actually one of the best songs here.

And those two things are some of Dreadful Minds’ strengths. The guitar lines and leads give the music some edge; the vocals are strong and clean, and often wrapped in harmonious arrangements.
Singer Holger Weckbach is vocally somewhere between Ray Alder (Fates Warning) and Gary Hughes (TEN), another balancing factor between the melodic & heavier side of the record.
Then you have a number with a commercial groove in “Lost My Heart”, surrounded by keyboards, a catchy chorus and some superb drumming.
As said above, Dreadful Minds reminds me a lot the great British combo Balance Of Power, and this is a plus to my ears: all is really polished and recorded / produced with a punchy yet crystal clear output.

“Love / Hate / Lies” is a very solid melodic hard / metal album delivering a varied, always interesting set of songs carefully composed, arranged and played.
Despite its over an hour running time and 14 tracks of offer, Dreadful Minds never bores you; the disc is dynamic, bouncing, and at places, quite imaginative.
Seems Dreadful Minds has a strong fan base in Germany, hopefully, “Love / Hate / Lies” will help introduce the band to a new frame of listeners world-wide.
Quite Recommended.

01 – The Growing Fear
02 – Your Love Was a Lie
03 – Lost My Heart
04 – Silent Tears
05 – Place of Silence
06 – Breaking Circles
07 – Edge of Sanity
08 – Changing Memories
09 – Left
10 – Sixty Feet Under
11 – Caught in Illusion
12 – What U Give Is What U Get
13 – Reborn
14 – Wake Up

Holger Weckbach – vocals
Christian Wolf, Rainer Weckbach – guitars
Uli Schlegel – keyboards
Jens Freudenberg – bass
André Tischler drums

BUY IT !
www.puresteel-shop.com/DREADFUL-MINDS-LoveHateLies_1
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