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Conception > Parallel Minds > Reviews
Conception - Parallel Minds

Too Early Came… This Immaculate Conception - 94%

bayern, May 9th, 2020

A friend enforced “In Your Multitude” upon my hologram some time in the summer of 1995, and although I generally don’t take lightly such unaccounted invasions of my musical privacy, I have to admit that this particular recommendation was one of the strongest ever. And I really liked how this music so perfectly contrasted with the bright shining weather outside… sitting on the balcony, sipping beer, and these dark ominous sounds embalming you, making you reconsider your surrender to this free, impossibly easy living.

Tracking down the band’s past catalogue became a most urgent task for me afterwards, and before you know it I was nodding approvingly, and some more, on the tunes from “The Last Sunset”, the guys’ first instalment, a more energetically (dis)assembled affair which still offered enough intriguing motifs to suggest at the loftier vistas that were coming soon in the theatre next to you, before you have even fully enjoyed the last sunset.

The album reviewed here took a bit longer to locate, but this was one of the crispest sound qualities I had ever encountered on a re-recorded (not original) cassette. I still have it… and still listen to it. Before that, though, I managed to see the video made for “Roll the Fire”, the brilliant atmospheric stomper, a semi-balladic slow burner that so finely captures the band’s dark dramatic, even seductively sinister if you like, approach. However, it’s not only ominous configurations that the listener would savour here, what with one of the most dynamic openers in Norwegian metal history in the form of “Water Confines”, a near-speed metal experience, a reminder of the first instalment’s more restless walkabouts. The latter find support in the bouncy choppy rhythms on the semi-galloping marvel “And I Close My Eyes” and the macabre stomps on “Wolf's Lair”, but the officiant dark aura permeating this recording seldom allows too many speedy frivolities. It does let the balladic clout in, though, but this one more readily fits the academic delivery if not even downright enhances it either with brief romantic etudes (“Silent Crying”) or with more threatening doomy escalations (“Silver Shine”). More optimistic hooks find their place on the title-track, not without the help of a few brighter keyboard strokes, successfully breaking the tenebrous clouds which gather with intent on the brilliant authoritative pounder “My Decision”; I’m not sure whose decision it was to include this track here, but this is a most exemplary steam-roller which finds its very faithful sequel on the similarly-executed “Missionary Man” from “In Your Multitude”. What fails to find a follow-up on the band’s subsequent endeavours is the closing larger-than-life saga “Soliloquy”, an encompassing progressive roller-coaster that covers everything from romantic idylls to fast-paced crescendos within the span of 9-min, a fairly ambitious undertaking which the guys haven’t tried to surpass yet.

Yes, I know; I have written a treatment of “War and Peace”-sque proportions so far, and I still haven’t mentioned the band’s main asset, the incomparable, the one-and-only Roy Khan. By the way, these Norwegians should be given a medal for their achievements on the vocal front: we have Oddleif Stensland (Communic), Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus)… all singing prodigies to die for. However, neither of these minstrels comes closer to Khan, one of the ten finest timbres to ever grace the metal scene; the man who can single-handedly carry entire discographies on his shoulders and vocal cords. With him in action the fan feels secure that whatever comes from the music department will never fail to deliver, but even if it doesn’t, just focusing on the vocals would do the trick 90% of the time… even Kamelot’s fledgling career was put back on track when the man lent his abilities there.

But to reach heights where no mortals dare to tread, it surely takes a bit more than just inordinate vocal exploits; and this is the reason why this effort’s title can be whispered on the same frequency as the one where Fates Warning’s “Awaken the Guardian”, or Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, or Savatage’s “Gutter Ballet” can be found; the level of musicianship and song-composition skills is simply too high for one to just indulge in the singing exploits. On the other hand, Conception’s palette is not as ample and exuberant, compared to the mentioned acts, but their dark economic, brooding style is surprisingly effective by also carrying enough intrigue to keep the band within the progressive metal confines. When letting themselves more creative freedom (the mentioned “Soliloquy”), they easily reach the top of the complex, labyrinthine dimensions; however, it’s in the less flamboyant, parsimonious strokes where their real strength lies.

Going even stronger right after with the colossal “In Your Multitude”, the band’s creative peak. A natural slackening after the magnum opus followed suit as the band went with the flow with “Flow” which not surprisingly grounded their career to a halt. Darkness beckoned some 20 years later, also releasing Khan from his obligations to King Arthur and his followers, and a short “dark symphony” was stitched as a reunion gesture. Nothing too extraordinary, just a rowdier update of the sound from “Flow”, a full realisation of which is the freshly released full-length “State of Deception”. The audience has been deceived? Well, it all depends on which side of the fence you’ve found yourself… if you’ve hoped for another expertly mindful opus parallel to the one here, l can clearly see you throwing tantrums from here to eternity… and back.

More progressive and refined - 80%

colin040, August 2nd, 2019

When it comes down to progressive metal, I’d say Conception are a good candidate for newcomers – the band had always crafted songs instead of random pieces, not to mention this band, save for perhaps the debut, never sounded like anyone else.

Musically, this is definitely a step closer to what progressive metal would be known for. You’ve got the oddball time signatures, a more unorthodox guitar approach and overall this definitely sounds like an album of its time. Still, I’d argue this is more a transition album than a full on progressive record – the power metal tendencies are still notable here and people who are trying to get into progressive metal should probably have an easier time digesting this record than the one that would follow.

Most important are how Roy Khan and Tore Ostby have evolved in just two years. Roy Khan sounds slightly husky, yet has a gentle quality to his voice that’s evokes a sense of majesty more so than toughness – it’s why the balladic ‘’Silver Shine’’ works and the pseudo-tough ‘’My Decision’’ does not. I don’t think Tore Ostby had really found his identity until In Your Multitude , but it’s notable he’s developing a better sense of both writing and riffing here. He still channels some of Yngwie Malmsteen on ''Roll the Fire'' and displays his flamenco influences on ''Silent Crying'', but it's the title track that shows him at his most unique and best (and more on that one, later). Hell, even a simple tune like ‘’The Promiser’’ comes off like a total earworm; that catchy main riff mixed with Khan’s wailing about politics and deceit works like magic.

There's one strange thing to Parallel Minds; it features the worst and the best tracks of the band at this point, funny enough. ‘’Roll the Fire’’ is an example of everything that can go wrong with progressive metal; a plodding boredom of a track with a single chug note making the verse verse and its chorus that isn’t much more impressive either. Then there’s the title track – those groove-y verse riffs, soaring leads combined with that high flying chorus make it Conception’s best track ever. Once in a while you’ll still hear some nods to The Last Sunset here - the speedy opener feels like an upgraded variant of the aforementioned album's faster track, thanks to Tore Ostby’s agility. Even something like epic ‘’Soliloquy’’ features a heavy riff launched off like a rocket after that melodic spin-off near the end, which might surprise the listener after eight minutes of tender and progressive tendencies the track possesses.

While I’m convinced Conception’s best output is In Your Multitude, Parallel Minds is a solid second-best offering. Anyone new to progressive metal should have a good time with this album. I certainly did.

Superb - 95%

Moonglum_Of_Elwher, August 6th, 2007

I remember that, when this album first came out, back in 1993, it made a rather large impact and was perceived with excitement and rather encouraging comments from the press. The video for the single “Roll The Fire” became a small hit, and it appeared on the screens of MTV pretty often. Conception was considered to be the next big hope of power / progressive metal. Unfortunately for the group, however, this sudden fame turned out to be more harmful than beneficial. Being a band that was always eager to experiment with their music, Conception chose to slightly modify their style with their next album, “In Your Multitude”, and therefore became virtually forgotten, almost as quickly as they had gained their sudden popularity. Indeed, nowadays Conception are mostly remembered for the fact that it was Roy Khan’s previous band, before he joined Kamelot.


Looking back through time, one can judge “Parallel Minds” in cold blood and objectively, without having to jump into conclusions about the future of the band. The first impression created is that “Parallel Minds” is, in fact, an excellent and memorable record. This might sound vague, but this album truly has something to say, as it seems to bear a distinct identity, a character of its own. Listening to the ten tracks that are included in the play list, one can easily assume that “Parallel Minds” owes its high degree of originality and quality mostly to two persons: guitarist / composer Tore Østby and vocalist / lyricist Roy Khan.


To begin with, the guitar work delivered by Tore Østby is nothing less than marvellous. The guitarist of Conception not only manages to combine a variety of metal influences (Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, Pantera) with jazz and progressive rock (mainly Pink Floyd but also Rush, to a lesser extent) elements, but he moreover achieves to integrate all these influences into his own, personal style. His riffs aren’t extremely complicated or hard to follow, yet they are unveiled in manner capable of captivating the ear, as well as the mind of the potential listener. Østby seems to be one of those guitarists that charm their audience thanks to the distinctiveness of their sound, without having to rely on cheap tricks or supersonic speeds to impress. The only drawback in the guitar work of “Parallel Minds” is the fact that the solos could be a little more aggressive or longer in duration at certain occasions.


Furthermore, Conception’s second full - length album holds an excellent vocal performance by Roy Khan. Nowadays, most power metal fans are familiar with this vocalist from Norway, mostly due to his extremely good work with Kamelot. His contributions in albums like “”Siége Perilous”, “Karma” or the recent “Ghost Opera”, have gained him the status of one of the best contemporary power metal vocalists. The fact that he possesses a uniquely passionate voice, which works extremely well under melodic conditions, has offered Khan the opportunity to become particularly famous. This may sound far - fetched, but his performance in “Parallel Minds” transcends everything he has ever achieved with Kamelot. More specifically, the passionate touch that has made Khan so famous is evident in all the songs included in Parallel Minds, yet the lead vocalist of Conception also displays a willingness to experiment with his voice and employs a number of other approaches, alternative to the “traditional” melodic one. What is more, he seems to have excellent control of his voice. Thus, the result sound much more multidimensional than his work with Kamelot.


The rest of the band also appear to be accomplished musicians, and the level of their performance adds to the overall quality of the album. However, the technical performance of Conception would be of little importance, if the songs of “Parallel Minds” were uninspired and unimaginative. This is absolutely not the case: the tracks of “Parallel Minds” constitute the main strength of this record. As far as their musical content is concerned, Tore Østby’s ten compositions represent a wide variety of all the healthy forms of power metal. “Parallel Minds” contains tracks that sound heavy and remorseless (“Water Confines”, “Wolf’s Lair”), tracks of mid tempo speed with catchy refrains (“Roll The Fire”, “Parallel Minds”), even a track with a more commercial feel (“The Promiser)”, as well as a wonderful ballad (“Silent Crying”). Finally, the album closes with “Soliloquy”, a nine minute long song where progressive (mainly reminiscent of Dream Theater) elements come to the surface. As stated above, “Roll The Fire” was quick to become a small hit and accounted for most of the amount of fame that Conception achieved. Although “Roll The Fire” is indeed a tune of unquestionable quality and deserved the attention it eventually got, there are clearly even better songs within the album.


What is more, Roy Khan deserves an additional special praise for his exceptional lyrics. The lead vocalist of Conception seems capable of knowing exactly how to describe the introspective feelings and thoughts of a solitary and restless person. Furthermore, inner struggles are not the only issue Roy Khan puts the finger on: he also examines the relationship between mankind and technology, as well as the emotions of a person who experiences unfulfilled love. The words chosen are always deep and accurate, fact that makes the lyrics of “Parallel Minds” another positive aspect of the album.


Overall, “Parallel Minds” is an excellent specimen of power / progressive metal, an album that was unfortunately forgotten much more quickly than it deserved. If you happen to come across it, don’t miss the opportunity to give it a chance.