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Rival (US): State Of Mind Heavy Metal, Power Metal Metal Blade Records May 3rd, 2004
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Review
State Of Mind is the second release by the heavy/power metal act Rival. When inquiring about the band directly to the label, the contact sent not one copy, but a total of five promotional copies. That is never really a good sign. But, when listening to it, State Of Mind really isn't that bad an album. Sure it has some pretty bad elements, but it's nowhere near as bad as some people have made this out to be. The music on this release is actually pretty good. While it isn't anything over the top, it works as a nice change of pace. This is just your traditional album that blends heavy metal and power metal, period. The music pretty much stays at the same pace the whole album (with the only exception being the last track "Hell Train" which sounds more like a thrash song then anything), and the only really impressive elements on this are the guitar solos, as some of them are actually really good, like on "Extreme Aggression". State Of Mind does have something we rarely see though, which appears on the track "Lord Of The Knights". Right before the guitar solo, there is a bass solo! While it's nothing too extroadinary, it is something different and nice to hear. The song "Reach" has an introduction that some metal fans may take offense to, as you hear a car, a man walking, music from the previous song "Extreme Aggression" being played on a radio, and then gunfire to symbolize a drive by shooting, accompanied by the car speeding off. Many may perceive this a proving those conservative anti-metal types right, but if you just think it sounds like a cool song introduction then it's nothing to be concerned about. But one thing about this release is the vocals, as a good majority of the time they sound slurred and extremely hard to understand. When the vocalist pushes for a higher range, like on the track "Insane", everything is fine and you understand him, but right from the start on "State Of Mind", you'll have no idea what he's singing unless you have the lyrics handy. So, while it's not the greatest heavy metal CD out there, State Of Mind can hold it's own at least. The album is consistent from start to finish without being too formulaic aside the placement of a solo winds up. The only problem lies within the vocals and how much of them are slurred throughout the album. While there are moments, even a song or two, that you can understood what he says, like on "Insane" and much of "Hell Train", it will probably drive you absolutely batty to even begin to know what the vocalist is trying to say. If you're dedicated to this style, State Of Mind is worth a shot.
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