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MINDWARS “V”
MINDWARS “V”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Back in the glorious late 80’s when thrash was king, there wasn’t a better band in the underground than California’s HOLY TERROR. They had the speed and aggression of SLAYER (maybe more!) but harnessed that to a melodic songwriting sensibility worthy of QUEENSRYCHE and IRON MAIDEN. Their two albums “Terror And Submission” and “Mind Wars” were truly iconic.
Like so many others, the band has been gone for decades now, but HOLY TERROR guitarist Mike Alvord has not forgotten! He’s put together MINDWARS as a kind of sequel to HOLY TERROR, but one that has its own identity and isn’t just a run-through of H.T.’s greatest hits. The band has actually been quite active, but their previous output is woefully hard to find and fifth record “V” will likely be the first exposure of many to MINDWARS.
Listeners will be in for a treat. I don’t think MINDWARS has the balls-out speed of HOLY TERROR, but the songwriting chops are definitely there and they can sure play fast if they need to. The first two tracks here are good metal songs with a kind of MAIDEN/RYCHE feel, but the album really starts to come into its own with the superb instrumental “Road To Madagascar”, which is just a great conglomeration of riffs delivered with high energy. “Chasing The Wind” is a peppy anthem that grabs you from the start and features Mike’s somewhat nasal vocals, which fit the music well.
The rest of the album is quite the ride, ranging from very HOLY TERROR style thrash with “Live To Die” and “Cursader” to more mid-paced, chunky tunes like “Beneath The Trees” and “Source of Destruction”. And like many great albums, it saves the best for last. “Vultures of the Eighth Wonder” is an almost 10 minute epic that amazes all the way through...just a brilliantly thought out song with more killer riffs than most albums have. Then things wrap up with one of the best cover songs to come down the pike in a long time, a thrashed-up ultra-fast version of SUPERTRAMP’s “The Logical Song”. No shit, this will kick your head in….only the lyrics and vocal line indicate the relation to the original.
MINDWARS have unleashed quite the strong metal stemwinder here. Only thing I might have wished for were the unmistakeable vocals of HOLY TERROR’s Keith Deen, who was one of a kind...may he rest in peace. This is really good stuff.
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