PROG ARCHIVES

WOW, Wicked Minds rocks! From the very first moment I heard this new Italian band, I was carried away by their heavy and dynamic sound with floods of Hammond organ, often biting, wah-wah drenched guitar and powerful vocals. The hints from early Uriah Heep are obvious but in my opinion Wicked Minds is not just a derivative band. First they offer pleasant variation in their compositions like Burning Tree (a fine ballad with warm vocal, flute and acoustic guitar), Black Capricorn Fire (swinging with swirling flute traverse) and The Court Of The Satyr (a delicate classical guitar piece). And second Wicked Minds blend their sound with a wide range of vintage keyboards like the warm Solina string- ensemble (Witchflower and Black Capricorn Fire), the fat Moog synthesizer (Sad Woman and Soldier Of Fortune), the distinctive Fender Rhodes piano (Sad Woman) and the unsurpassed Mellotron (Scorpio Odeyssey). The highligths on this CD (12 songs, almost 80 minutes) are A Child And A Mirror (excellent Hammond work in a dreamy and bluesy atmosphere), Shadows Train (extensive, mindblowing Hammond solo), Sad Woman (exciting Moog explorations and a captivating blend of Fender Rhodes electric piano work and biting wah-wah guitar) and the final track Soldier Of Fortune (a tasteful ballad with a Lucky Man-inspired Moog solo, a sensitive guitar solo and a great, bombastic final part with powerful saxophone play). The DVD showcases this dynamic and exciting band on an Italian festival in 2004 (Tendenze) and a Belgian festival in 2005 (Spirit Of 66, Verviers), enjoy Wicked Minds their inspired live act and the strong cover of Uriah Heep’s song Gypsy, say no more! By ERIK NEUTEBOOM