Mind Revolution, Skyfire's sophomore effort, was released on May 5, 2003. The effort showed musical progression and flexibility, utilizing keyboards more sparsely and atmospherically than Timeless Departure had and introducing soft, keyboard - based passages into the otherwise heavy music. Album: 'Mind Revolution' (2003) 1. Nightmares Nevermore 2. Haunted By Shadows 3. Colliding In Mind 4. Dawn Will Break 5. Uncloud The Sky 6. Shapes Of Insanity 7. Blinded By Euphoria 8. Mind Revolution.
After being in awe from Skyfire's debut album Timeless Departure, I couldn't wait to listen to this one. The band has once again done an incredible job on their second release, MindRevolution, even though coming up with a sick CD twice in a row is pretty difficult to do and is where most bands fail these days. There are so many great points to MR. It starts off with 'Nightmares Nevermore', which is a fast-paced brutal song with sick melodies and a complex song structure to kick you into gear for the rest and is a great start-off for the album. Basically this is pretty similar to their debut Timeless Departure, except they have advanced in many different ways. Their melodies are more complex and interesting, and they play much more aggressively.
You can tell they have become more skilled in musicianship. The vocalist experiments with low growling, which there was none of on TD.
They also have a new drummer, who is just as good, if not better, than Tobias(who was awesome too). Scattered across the album are some very catchy and brutal beats that flow with the heavy guitar which calls for some godly headbanging, and he even does some occasional blast beats. The ONLY downsides to MR are that just a couple songs are a bit boring(Haunted By Shadows and Caged) and are definitely below Skyfire standards. But other than that, this CD is a must and is a fucking sick release from the best of Melodic Death. For long awaited fans this second album had a lot to rely on.
After the realse of the bands first album, Timeless Departure, many people weren't sure on how good the second album would be. After the drop of Tobias, the bands old drummer, many people weren't sure how the writing of the lyrics and the beats that would play could add up to his unique skill. Than it was time for the album to come out. When I first popped in the album and heard Nightmares Nevermore I was absolutly stunned.
It was a great mix of hard guitars, great vocals, and stunning keyboading. It was a great opener song to show the band unique style and talent. The singer Henrik Wenngren had a lot more lyrics to write by himself this time, since Tobias was one of the main writers for songs like Dimensions Unseen on the Timeless Departure album, but if you listen to songs like Blinded By Euphoria and Colliding In Mind, you will find that he did a fantastic job composing the lyrics to the music. This album is definitly worthy of getting and is a great sequel to Timless Departure. If you are a fan of Children of Bodom, Norther, In Flames (old), I would highly recommend getting both of this bands albums.
Song to listen for: Dawn Will Break, Blinded By Euphoria, Nightmares Nevermore, Haunted By Shadows, Mind Revolution.
I first heard of Skyfire from CDNow (before it was assimilated by Borgazon) by looking up Rhapsody and clicking on related artists. The only other related artist was Skyfire. I clicked the link and saw the listing for their debut album “ Timeless Departure.” It had some sound clips that instantly hooked me ( Rhapsody sounds nothing like Skyfire so I don’t know who associated these two bands). It took some searching but thanks to the holy mecca of music stores (Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ), I found the disc. Once I got it, I must have listened to it for a month straight. It was my discovery of last year.
With that, I was eagerly awaiting their new album. It took longer than expected (since some of the men of Skyfire are university students in Sweden) but the wait was worthwhile. Skyfire has changed their direction somewhat. The first album had a folky feel to some songs. This album takes the sound in a more progressive direction.
Comparisons have been made between Skyfire and Children of Bodom but honestly, I think that the two Skyfire albums are far superior to anything that Children of Bodom have done recently. They combine influences from such a wide variety of sources as Dream Theater, Entombed, and Cradle of Filth to name a few. The new album does show off the classical training the band.
It is a much more mature and articulated album. Where “ Timeless Departure” had many fast aggressive moments, “ Mind Revolution” is much more calculated and articulated. It reflects more mature composition and is a musicians’ album.
The title track in particular shows the mastery that these five men bring to the craft of an album. The keyboard intro/outro gets you hooked.
The vocals compliment the guitar and keyboard work and the rhythm section could not be tighter. This is what progressive music is about.
All time changes are handled smoothly. “ Shapes of Insanity” has to be the most progressive track Skyfire has produced to date. The drum work on this track is booming and thunderous. “ Blinded by Euphoria” has an intro that fellow Swedes Opeth would be proud to write. The song goes on to feature many of the signature styles that Skyfire featured on their first album.
Continuing in that vein, “ Colliding in Mind” is more of the older style sound with a faster and more aggressive sound. This song also has spectacular bass and vocal work. Since bass is often neglected in Death/Black metal, it is great to see Skyfire taking the time to make it an integral part of the listening experience. “ Haunted by Shadows,” the first single, is a multi-part track and it fits together extremely well. The keyboard work on this track shines as well.
The fatal flaw with “ Timeless Departure” was its length. It was a good album but when it was over, you were incomplete. It was not a complete listening experience. Where that album failed, “ Mind Revolution” delivers.
![Skyfire Skyfire](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125426810/440733079.jpg)
When it is over, you are whole. There is a sense of closure and completeness. If you liked the first album, this is a must buy. Children of Bodom fans will be remiss if they pass up an opportunity to listen to a band that schools them in the classes of metal.
Killing Songs: All but Mind Revolution, Haunted by Shadows, and Blinded by Euphoria stand out. Quoted 90 / 100 Other albums by Skyfire that we have reviewed: reviewed by and quoted 90 / 100 reviewed by and quoted 96 / 100 reviewed by and quoted no quote reviewed by and quoted 80 / 100 5 readers voted Average: 87 You did not vote yet.