Mind Tricks

Disarmonia Mundi have always been my go to band when I am in need for a neck-breaking assault of melodic metal. These aspects culminate in their third album Mind Tricks. Ettore, the band's sole composer is heavily inspired by Swedish melodic death metal groups that began their careers in the 90s, such as In Flames and Soilwork. These early influences particularly shine through on the band's first album Nebularium, which is less melodic and favors a thrashier and more death metal oriented riff work.

All this changed, however, with the sophomore album Fragments of D-Generation which also introduced a key feature that characterizes Mind Tricks' phantasmagoric sound. I am talking about Claudio Ravinale and Björn "Speed" Strid, who would invigorate the band's music with an interesting approach to vocal interplay unseen in other bands of the same genre. The former being able to deliver intense screams and shrieks and the latter what he's known for in Soilwork, excessive shouts and ethereally catchy clean vocals reserved for the choruses. Stylistically, Fragments of D-Generation departed quite distinctly from the first album's muddy sound and upped the ante in terms of production, also enhancing the compositions with sprawling keyboard synths, adding another refreshing layer of atmosphere to absorb.

These elements would shape Disarmonia Mundi's sound for the future and reach their logical apex on Mind Tricks. The album opts for an overall darker mood which is, for instance, achieved through the placement of eerie atmospheric synths throughout the songs, the best examples being the opening song Resurrection Code, Celestial Furnace, Process of Annihilation as well as the title song. Furthermore, the three members' vocals are multilayerd to such a great extent that the album remains exciting for a long period of time. The unpredictable nature with which the vocals are blended together creates an oneiric wall of sound. Venom Leech and the Hands of Rain, for example, bombards the listener with different voices every second, sometimes in unison buried beneath and between each other. The illusion of multiple voices is a true mind trick, pun intended. The blending of voices even continues in the infinitely catchy and soaring choruses where Ettore's and Speed's clean vocals are dual-lined to create a single voice, although due to both singers' indiosyncrasies in intonation and pronunciation, the illusion of the fused voices always remains apparent which is pleasant to listen to. As such, the choruses are extremely relieving when they strike with their high level of energy and indulgingly infectious nature. The chorus of Celestial Furnace will forever be stuck in my head. Utterly cathartic.

The pace of the album is quite fast and never really loses its momentum until the final song A Taste of Collapse, the album's only mid-tempo song. The title song thrashes forward mercilessly with quick riffs and then decides to channel this energy into a stomping groove section in the middle. Last Breed, for instance, thrusts directly onto the stage and takes twisted turns like a roller coaster with its huge guitars driving back and forth in ecstatic chord progressions during its unrelenting verses which are accompanied by a subtle electronic synth amplifying the perceived pace of the song even further. The soaring pinch harmonic that recurs during the pre-chorus even magnifies the tempo to ludicrous levels. Nihilistic Overdrive pushes forward like a steamroller and releases its tension in its theatric chorus. Liquid Wings sounds trashy and its rhythms bounce to and fro, with Ettore subtly hitting the snare drum differently in recurrent motifs of the song to keep things interesting. In order to allow the listener to inhale and exhale for a moment again, the middle section turns almost ambient before catapulting the scorching riffs back into the front. Process of Annihilation with its mercilessly martial rhythm sounds like an energetic storm of electricity warping around one. Said imagery is evoked through the endless electronic synth that buzzes behind the monstrous wall of sound during the cataclysmic verses whose aggressive riffs try to pull one in all possible directions at once only to explode in the middle with a barrage of powerful snare drum detonations. Subdued voices can be heard whispering enigmatic things during the verses which creates an eerie atmosphere amidst the high velocity onslaught. This time the chorus does not bring relief but decides to keep the level of energy established by the blistering verses, delivering an urgent cry for catharsis that's left unanswered.

Despite the album's overall insistence on a fast tempo, it manages to keep things engaging and varied enough, be they subtle tonal differences of the snare drum across the album (sometimes hitting harder in certain songs), the electronic elements that enhance the brooding and futuristic atmosphere as well as the maelstrom of vocals interacting with each other in an overwhelming fashion. Mind Tricks is a fierce and crisp amalgamation of songs full of heightened energy, propelling rhythms and extremely catchy choruses. A melodic death metal masterpiece that still enchants me even after a decade and hopefully more to come.


Updated 2016/06/16

Those familiar with Disarmonia's past work are in for a surprise with this one. They've collectively joined in with the rest of once good bands who decided they needed to be more mainstream, get more fans, appeal to a wider audience etc (Refering specifically Soilwork - Stabbing the Drama, since Bjorn Strid is directly involved with that project, but as well to In Flames).

While the earlier work was centered around intricate, technical but melodic guitar melodies and overall atmosphere, here there has been an overall dumbing down. There still remain the melodies but everything is so polished to the point that all real emotion just feels mechanized. Take a look at the music video they recorded for Celestial Furnace to understand what I'm talking about. The cheese factor sky rockets to gut busting laughter as you watch the vocalists singing these words with arms wide open:

"The last time
Those years were all in vain
Come save my soul"

It's like watching a 'metal' boyband singing their hearts (hurt) out in an altered form of mock-emo epic. Every thing about the video is laughable from Bjorn lurking sullenly in a dark room spilling his heart out, to Ettore appearing out of the shadows in a jumpsuit and orange designer sun glasses you just wonder what the fuck were they trying to accomplish with this? Musicality has been replaced for crowd pleasing materialistic aesthetics. Contributing to this, almost every song on this album has the typical verse x chorus x repeat structure throughout; each chorus has a sing-along factor that inexperienced, pop loving 'metal' children will love to rage on about, but for anyone who is experienced to any degree with true forms of music and metal, this is worthless garbage. All instruments remain to a degree played efficiently but are lacking in emotion, inspiration and artistic direction. A true cash grab.

A final note on the lyrics, there's nearly nothing poetic or "deep" about them. They all have a very heart broken emo-boy quality to them, for instance:

"cut just like razorblades if I close my eyes will I wake up screaming?
frozen your touch seems like a shot to my head so drain me down
slit my soul fall to pieces with me"

Sorry, not poetic to anyone familiar even to a mediocre degree with real poetry and literature; this is just middle school angst ridden note book scribbling.

Sorry Disarmonia Mundi, 15/100 (15 for the laughs that are had watching the Celestial Furnace video)

I see that Mind Tricks are not very popular here. And I can't understand why. I like it as much as Fragments, oh, come on, Disarmonia Mundi hasn't turned nu-metal or metalcore... Mind Tricks are still fuckin' melodic death, maybe a little bit modern. So?

But I have to admit that Fragments of D-Generation is more consistent album than this. MT have got 10 tracks and 1 Pantera cover. From this 10 tracks, 4 are total killers! They are in my honest opinion better than songs from Fragments. Other tracks are a little bit worse, but still at least very good.

They have got unique style of vocals... I mean, how many other melodic death metal bands have three vocalists? Not many, I believe. While Bjorn uses screams vocals, Claudio uses harsh vocals and Ettore uses clean vocals. Guitarwork is excellent, bass is nothing special, but it's not what band is about. Keyboards are great, they make so good atmosphere... and drums, Ettore is also very good drummer. (Yes, he plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, but it isn't too good for the band, because they can't do gigs...)

Album kicks off with first song - Resurrection Code. It's easy to notice that production is more polished than in Nebularium or Fragments. This band is a proof that to good metal, good production can only help. You don't even notice when the first track ends... but that's not end of this crazy ride, Mindtricks are the same amazing quality. Then, we have a little slower track - Celestial Furnace. The only song from the album, which has got music video for it. It is quality track, but I think that it outstands from the album... in a wrong way. Chorus is a little bit annoying for me, but not so bad. Now, fourth song, Nihilistic Overdrive... man... this album is worth buying just for NO... (same as Mindtricks, Resurrection Code and A Taste of Collapse)... Do I have to add anything else? Then we have got songs from Parting Ways to Last Breed. I don't want to tell you more about them, that would be pointless... I will say that you have got there piece of very good melodic death.

Then A Taste Of Collapse, as you have propably figured out, this track is one of the best from the album. OK, the one who is left is Mouth for War - Pantera cover. This is also very well done cover (I am not Pantera fan, so I can't say anything about the original...).

The conclusion is, I hope, obvious for everyone. This album is one of the best melodic death metal albums I have ever heard(same with Fragments). If you don't want to listen to it, just because Disarmonia Mundi has got more modern sound, then you gonna miss a lot of great music. Really.

Disarmonia Mundi is in my opinion the best melodeath band in the world, even if they might be a bit unknown. Their previous album, Fragments of D-Generation, is hailed as a benchmark for modern melodeath and I couldn't agree more. This album on the other hand is labeled as a step back. I couldn't disagree more.

Musically the two only difference between the two is the last one was a bit more intense on certain parts (mainly the song Common State of Inner Violence) and this album is a little more melodic. Some might say it's gotten cheesy but I think that is untrue.

If I were to go into the technical bits then:
The guitar work has never been of most interest in Disarmonia Mundi, the riffing is pretty simple and it has always been that way. Melody and atmosphere is mostly achieved through keyboard. It's kept on a safe level and never gets out-of-hand, over-the-top like Children of Bodom. The drumming is pretty simple as well and ranges between slow, heavy beats to blast beats and fast double bass drumming, with the last one being the one used most frequently.
The really strong part in this band is the vocals. The combination of Björns, Ettores and Claudios different styles makes for something truly unique. Björn brings his powerful screams and growls we all know from Soilwork. On top of his screams we have Ettores shrieks and and Claudios gothic, atmospheric singing. The lyrics are no shame either, example:

Burning ice and velvet rain
(I know I have to die for)
Falling from the liar's den
(Get rid of all this sorrow)
Begging for
The hands of rain
(You know you have to die for)
A venom leech is what I am
(Inside I feel so hollow)

I don't really understand it either completely but abstract poetry is fucking beautiful none the less.

I understand people who think this is nothing special, some people think instrumental prowess is more important than vocals and lyrics. I fell in love with Disarmonia Mundis unique triple vocal style the first time I heard it and I think it's just as awesome today.

Killer Songs: Resurrection Code, Mindtricks, Celestial Furnace, Nihilistic Overdrive, Parting Ways, Venom Leech and the Hands of Rain, A taste of Collapse

How many of you are familiar with Disarmonia Mundi? Not too many, or so I would assume. For those of you who don't know, Disarmonia Mundi is an Italian Gothenburg style metal band based in Turin, Italy. Formed around 1999/2000, the project has seen several members come and many members go, but despite this normally discouraging aspect, they've remained a focused band, releasing three albums since 2002. Though by no means cutting edge, this Gothenburg-esque band still makes for an enjoyable listen. If there was ever something notable about Disarmonia Mundi, it would be the featuring of Soilwork vocalist, Bjorn "Speed" Stride. Yes, perhaps not the greatest vocalist in the genre, Bjorn brings his upbeat combination of clean and harsh vocals to the band, and effectively increases the likeableness of the band's music. In June 2006, Disarmonia Mundi released their third album, Mind Tricks.

The first thing that comes to mind when listening to Mind Tricks is that it sounds a lot like Soilwork. A whole lot like Soilwork. This could partly be the case because of Bjorn's vocal efforts, but the music is quite similar as well. Let it be known that Mind Tricks is not a very heavy album. But what Disarmonia Mundi's third album lacks in heaviness it makes up for with interesting melodies and guitar driven riffs. The song Resurrection Code, one of my favourite songs off the album, is a high energy track that perhaps best exemplifies the album's sound. The guitars and keyboards, both played by Ettore Rigotti, combine to form a very memorable sound, a sound that knows no limits in technicality, emotion, or melody. Quite frankly, it isn't the most original material, but it's still quite fun to listen to. Songs like Nihilistic Overdrive and Celestial Furnace are other extremely solid songs which should impress listeners, and are among the album's top tracks. The Gothenburg themed metal that the Italian (and Stride) band plays is quite infectious, though nothing really new.

The musicianship on Mind Tricks is quite good. Not exactly mind blowing, but still impressive. Like I said, the guitar and keyboard playing of Ettore is quite effective, creating an aggressive, yet grave atmosphere. But the band member who stands out the most is none other than Soilwork vocalist Bjorn Stride. And of his performances, his works during the album's various choruses is perhaps the most enjoyable, at least for me. Though at times his clean vocals may sound whiny, I feel he does a very good job conveying the moods of the music, and he definitely helps mould the band's sound. The chorus of Resurrection Code fits the song extremely well and is most definitely the catchiest part of the album. Like the opener, many of Mind Tricks' choruses are of the sing-a-long variety. Whether this is a good thing or not rests in the opinion of the listener, but those who enjoy it will enjoy it a lot.

If I had any complaints, it would be that the material is not as strong as it could be. The album can get fairly inconsistent, especially as it draws to a close. Songs like Venom Leech and the Hands of Rain, Process of Annihilation, and Mouth for War (yes, this is a Pantera cover) do not quite keep up the momentum that the highlights create. Another aspect which I do not quite enjoy is that of Claudio Ravinale. Whereas Bjorn varies between clean and harsh vocal efforts, Claudio merely screams. And it's quite clear that he cannot keep up with Stride. His antics can get quite irritating, especially as the album carries on into its latter stages. Lucky he that Bjorn around to make up for this rather annoying setback.

Disarmonia Mundi has had a fairly uneventful career so far. They haven't been able to find suitable musicians to play live with (since Ettore can't do everything), so the young Italians have more or less kept to the studio. But in this studio they've managed to piece together three albums. Their latest, 2006's Mind Tricks, is a fine effort from the melodic metallers, and if you're into powerful, driving riffs; melodic keyboards; a mix of harsh and clean vocals, Mind Tricks is for you. Being a fan of Soilwork also helps, as the album sounds extremely similar to something that they would make. Admittedly, this wouldn't be the first album from this genre that I'd recommend, but its still worth checking out. Just don't expect too much.

(Originally written for Sputnikmusic)

When I heard this band was making a new album, I was estatic, like seriously. I was completely blown away by Fragments, and I figured their nack for song writing would only progress and get and more spectacular but I guess following up a masterwork is never an easy thing to accomplish. There's a lot of good here, but so much wrong.

The general sound is pretty much the same; modern electro gothenburg metal. Sing along choruses, snapping double kick, hasty riffs and all that, but this....well it's just not as good as previously done, by this band or by any other. First off, the choruses on Fragments were like 'woah', totally great and inspiring, but the choruses on this are so pretentious and border on adult contemperary, y'know the kind of chorus where you'll turn the volume down in hopes no one nearby thinks you're lame for listening to what you are. Such as the chorus to 'Nihilsitic Overdrive', fine song to be sure, but the chorus is so wrong. Other lame songs include 'Venom Leech and the Hands of Rain', which actually has a great bridge but again a chorus that totally annihilates the vibe of the song. Last Breed, another song with potential but is buried with its lame attempt at a catchy hook. Then you have 'A Taste of Collapse' which is pretty much a ripoff of Queensryches 'Another Rainy Night', unacceptable. Oh and the Pantera cover is completely useless. The only songs on this album that are actually worth anything are the songs one and three. The best of which being 'Celestial Furnace', but after track 3, this album spirals downard and fast.

Another reason this album is hopelessly lame is that new vocalist, who sounds...well..annoying, and the fact he was given more air time than the mighty speed strid is infuriating. This album might have been saved if Speed was given full vocal duties, because as is, it's just a bad album. Even Ettore, who reigned on the clean vocals on Fragments, sounds like a bad Euro pop singer. This is a frustrating album, theres plenty of good riff sections and breaks, but they're all rendered obsolete by the horrid attempts at hooks in the songs they're in.

I am so dissapointed in this album, wheres the brilliance like Red Clouds? Oceangrave? A Mirror Behind?, where is it? Just take Celestial Furnace and tell the rest of this album to stick it. Useless...

Something tells me that if Disarmonia Mundi's guitarist died, then it would've been a lot more positive for their career, especially before releasing "Mind Tricks." "Fragments of D-Generation" was spectacular. It was one of those albums that was right in line with Arsis' "A Celebration of Guilt" and Epoch of Unlight's "The Continuum Hypothesis." It was an album that proved a single thesis for Melodic Death bands: you can be doing something old and do it well, and whether or not it's original becomes irrelevant. There's no doubt that what Disarmonia Mundi did hadn't been done before, Melodic Death is one of the most hated genres amongst Metal in general. However, "Fragments of D-Generation" was simply stunning. So why the fuck did every one of their members have to live to complete this travesty?

"Mind Tricks". Even the title is irksome, initially. Gone is that synthed-out flair and all the cascading melodies of their former albums. Now is the time of hushed guitar with no crunch at all, no definition, and the time of the tremolo riffs from hell. It can't be stressed enough what kind of transformation has happened here. There were orgiastic melodies, textures upon textures of beautiful music. Now, it's Metalcore-par, second-rate Melodic... whatever-core that's so uninspired, they might as well have just set up mics around a toilet and shat as a group. That would've been so much more real and nonformulaic, contrasting to everything on this eventually coaster.

Avoid this album at all costs. Forget it ever happened. Hope that it's some sort of joke.

This album was a particularly grave disappointment. 'Fragments of D-Generation' was a breath of fresh air into the stagnating melodic-death scene and 'Nebularium' was also an excellent album in its own right. But alas it seems that things could not continue so.

That the album sounds overproduced is the least of its problems. The guitars sound muted and the distinctive bass of previous albums is sadly absent. Not only that but it seems that clean vocals are the order of the day, and not on occasion either. The entire style of the band seems to have been changed. The 'death' in melodic-death is a poor joke at best and the album sounds closer to hard rock or even the dreaded metalcore in some places. To give some idea of the level of disappointment this album caused me: I have listened to 'Fragments of D-Generation' and 'Nebularium' more times than I can count. Since procuring 'Mind Tricks' however I have listened to it a grand total of twice. To be fair not every single track on the album is completely horrible, but it many places it sounds like Soilwork's 'Stabbing The Drama' which is far from a good thing.

With releases following this trend it seems past time to give up on the melodic-death genre *sigh*.