A GENTLEMAN'S HURRICANE

Mind's Eye's last album, Walking on H2O was my introduction to the band. At first, I was a bit disappointed, melodies didn't hook me and frankly they sounded a bit too poppy and traditional. This feeling didn't last long though and now I wonder what was going on with my head, because it quickly grew to be one of my favourite albums of all time. Work of Art, the name of the also excellent previous album could also describe Walking on H2O.

Fortunately the wait for successor for Walking on H2O was not as long as with albums of my other favourite, Tool. A Gentleman's Hurricane, the new concept album - graphic novel and making of dvd set was released last Friday by Lion Music (have to mention them as a thank you note for shipping and me getting the new album in record time). This was my most anticipated album since Tool's 10 000 Days and fortunately it was worth of the wait, actually they could have taken the 5 years like Tool and it still would have been worth the wait!

So what we have here is more of the same, symphonic prog rock with the emphasis on arrangement and melodies instead of complexity and technical brilliance. The difference to previous albums two albums is probably slightly heavier sound, but I would call this metal though. There is a clear focus in each song and arrangements sound really tight. Each note and section seems to have a place, no pointless stuff here, which seems to plague a lot of prog music. I could list all the praises the last two albums have got and they could be used to describe this album and my initial impression is that this album is probably even better, only time will tell. There seem to be small but definite step forward with uniqueness, songs feel tighter and more... "lush"?. They took all the ingredients of the last album, added some and used them with more experience and skill. Oh yeah, there is also enjoyable story under all this brilliant music!

A Gentleman's Hurricane is one those rare albums which I really enjoy completely and has that extra something which raises it a step higher than most good and excellent albums. So I include this to my small bunch of five star albums.

As an additional note, the Making of DVD was really good and kept my short attention span after a bit clumsy beginning. It really helped to appreciate the talent the guys have (especially mastermind Daniel Flores) even more. I really hope this band will get a lot more notice and press, because they really deserve it!

First of all, I'd like to start out by saying that this is my first encounter with Mind's Eye Clearly every member is extremely talented at their craft. The vocals can be harsh and soothing at the very same moment. The singer really displays his versatility here.

Right off the get go, you immediatly get the feeling that your in for an epic journey, through your mind's eye. When the introduction is over, and the instruments kick in, you get the sense that your watching a great movie epic, in your mind. Father please forgive my sins still makes me shiver. Right away its nearly impossible not to fall in love with the vocals. The level of originality here really doesn't help me make refrences to other groups, so I won't even try. Track 2 Seven days is where the 'metal' side of the music is brought fourth. And what music it is! Full of interesting rythems, emotional lyrics. It's amazing how even though I don't quite understand the entire story from the lyrics alone, It still brings heart ache. It's touching, especially nearing the end of the Album. track 8 the hour of need is a short 2 and a half minute masterpeice that starts the lighter portion of the album (not that there isn't still harsh, metal sections) its during this track, that you realize that this isn't just any old Metal album. This is progressive rock with metal qualities at this finest. And with an epic closing track like Pandora's Musical Box the album is consistant, from beginning to end. Full of complex rythems, interesting melodies, and a story (more deeply understood, with every listen) that deserves to be listened to, by even the most Prog-metal weary music goers. Folks, this IS music, this IS prog. I challenge you to get lost in this Masterpiece.

5 out of 5 stars for being without flaws.

I first encountered Mind's eye with the WALKING ON H2O record. Although the knack for catchy tunes was inevitable and enjoyable, in my opinion it was all a bit too poppy and smooth. However, it was enough to spark my interest for the new album, so I checked out A GENTLEMAN'S HURRICANE. No dissappointment there! This is an absolutely fantastic album! Vibe-wise it lies somewhere between DT's SCENES FROM A MEMORY and Spock's SNOW (no coincedence these are also concept albums). It's heavier than their previous albums, but still not really metal in my opinion (which seems to scare a lot of you prog fans away for reasons I cannot fathom). Mind's Eye manage to blend catchy and easily digestible tunes with a definite prog feel and superb musicianship, but they never lose themselves in aimless displays of technical prowess (wich DT is often accused of). Although when used sparingly, this can be a positive thing if you ask me. The high point for me so far (but that seems to change with every turn in the CD player) is the haunting SEVEN DAYS. The chorus has been stuck in my mind for days, and I keep wanting to sing it out loud. The concept of the album I will not go into, as it has been explained enough by others, but suffice to say that it's a good, dark story line that adds depth to the lyrics and overall feel of the album, it feels a little like an elaborate sound track. Only problem is that it is only 45 minutes from my house to my work, and I cannot finish the whole album in a one-way trip, which bums me out for the rest of the day until I get to go home again! For those who want to check Mind's Eye out, I definitely recommend starting here. A real gem!

Although in my opinion it is opportunistic to call any album a classic or a masterpiece this quickly after release (classics take time to develop), I still give it 5 stars, as I'm pretty sure I won't be getting tired of it for quite a while yet!

The lost son of Operation: Mindcrime by Quneesryche is a perfect collection of catchy, melodic and well-produced progressive metal.

This Swedish trio has done a remarkable job with the musical production, song editing and lyrical concept. Although A Gentleman's Hurricane is no all-times classic, it's still provides loads of fun for every progmetal head out there.

The main highlights are the amazing production by Daniel Flores, his effective drum & keyboard work, and on top of that - Andreas Novak's vocal performance.

You can listen to AGH many times and still not get bored. A highly entertaining work, very accessible to almost everyone - and above all, full of great songs with hyper-catchy melodic lines.

Best tracks? the obvious hits are Feed my Revolver and AssaniNation. But I prefer heavier tracks like Seven Days, Red Winter Sirens and the epic closer Pandora's Musical Box.

This has been one of my 2007 favorite albums, without no doubt.

Prog Metal is alive and well thankyou very much. After being blown away by PATHOSRAY's debut released this past year(2007), here is another killer album from 2007. This one is a concept album created by the band's mastermind Daniel Flores(drums & keys). In an interview he said they basically made the music to fit his storyline. It is heavier than any of their previous records, but that wasn't planned, it just fit the concept better. I did feel like I was listening to a movie a lot when listening to this cd. The story is about an assassin who has just killed another victim, he then goes into a church afterwards to try to get rid of his mounting guilt before he has to leave(in 7 days) for his final assassination. So we have this dialogue between him and a retired preist he meets in this church. He has seven days to tell his newly made friend his life's story and the 12 murders he's already committed. I have to comment on the cover art. It's an amazing picture of a well dressed man walking towards a hurricane. Flores says that it depicts the chaos that the main character sees everywhere he goes. It's that turmoil he's trying to get rid of at the church. By the way a couple of Flores favourite releases from 2007 were from SYMPHONY X and THRESHOLD. Throughout this disc we also get a lot of samples of our main character talking and many other sounds much like PINK FLOYD did on "The Wall".

"Praying For Confession" is a good example of background sounds as we can hear him walking and opening a door and then pouring a drink then talking. Orchestral music comes in and then a choir before the main vocalist sings for the first time. A powerful soundscape follows. "Seven Days" is where things start to get really good. A nice heavy sound with vocals. Some great riffs too. There are mellower sections in contrast to the heavy ones. "Assassination" features catchy riffs and then it calms down quickly with processed vocals(great section). Back to the uptempo, powerful sound. The chorus is very catchy as well. "Chaos Unleashed" opens with a punishing melody that lightens when synths arrive. Vocals come in as the contrast of the heavy and lighter passages continue. Blistering guitar 3 minutes in with some really good synth work to follow. "Hell's Invitation" opens with spoken words as heavy riffs and vocals follow. A killer guitar solo before 4 minutes.

"Feed My Revolver" and the next one "Ashes To Ashes" are my two favourites.The first one offers up the heaviest sound yet. Absolutely crushing with lots of bottom end. Amazing chorus as well,and check out the synth work. "Ashes To Ashes (in land lullaby)" opens with the sounds of a baby crying before pounding drums take over with vocals right behind. I really like the sound when it settles down before we get pulverized again. The contrast continues. Ripping guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. The drums rumble like on a TOOL record. It ends with a phone conversation. "The Hour Of Need" is a restrained tune that opens with more talking before male then female vocals come in. "Red Winter Sirens" opens with another conversation as piano and reserved vocals come in. This one is all over the place until it settles in with a powerful rhythm after 3 minutes. "Skin Crawl" is a fantastic song with a great chorus. He really winds out the guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. "Graveyard Hands" is a beautiful song with a Celtic flavour at times. Lots of flute in the beginning and after 4 minutes. "Say Goodnight" opens with spoken words before a crunchy guitar led soundscape takes over. Vocals join in as well as some crazy, spacey synths. Great guitar after 3 minutes. "Pandora's Musical Box" is an uptempo track with some incredible drumming. You can hear a music box come and go. Some heaviness before 6 minutes with some nice guitar a minute later. It ends with a choir and spoken words.

If your into Metal and concept albums then this is a must ! I do prefer PATHOSRAY's cd a little more but still recommend this one highly.

I never wrote a review on an album without a thorough look on the lyrics. But this time I will make an exception, since this one has already hit the ceiling in the 5 star measure :)

I didn't knew Mind's Eye before and all the reviews of this made me curious. So after a hundred (!) of spins the verdict is here. This one belongs to the top ten of 2007. It is pure progressive metal with all the ingredients of this genrie but with the band's geniune flavour. Their sound is unique and this is a credit for a prog metal band. A Gentleman's Hurricane is a rare diamond that makes this good year even better.

This experienced trio delivers a very powerful work. Guitars and basses come from the same guy and are masterfully played: heavy and melodic. Although you can understand from the bassy riffs which one is his primary instrument, the solos are shreddy and really tricky. On the other hand, drums and keys are also played from the same guy which is also the mind behind mind's eye. And believe me, he knows what he is doing very well, with strange rhythms and atmospheric keys. Add to this a very talented singer and you have a multi layered progressive result. And after you see the bios of these guys you finally understand it.

I think that there is a concept story of murder and betrayal behind all this. You can sense it on the dark parts of this work. And it has a lot of it. From the start to the finale of this you are hit by a flood of emotions especially from the keys. It's like the keyboards are in the background in its own world telling their story. Hell, if you concentrate on each instrument, you can see that each one works like that. That's how all the songs have a complex and beautiful structure.

I will simply give it 5 stars. It deserves it. Nothing more to say, their music speaks for itself.

This is one of my favorite albums from 2007. Mind's Eye does an amazing job of making their music dark, but they also have a massive amout of melody. I liked Walking on H2O, but I think this disc passes right by Walking... and puts Mind's Eye right up there with some of the Progressive Metal masters! Awesome cd, and Feed My Revolver is one of the best tracks of 2007. I Love This Album!!!

Now this is what I call a must. It is a sin to do not have this CD. Maybe is not THE progressive album, nor THE album of the history, but it is a masterpiece that includes what everyone should like: heavy and powerful riffs, catchy choruses, brilliant lyrics, an excellent concept, and, of course, Andreas Novak voice, probably one of the best voices all over the metal scene (progressive and not progressive)

Every single song is great without an exception. But my favorites, for sure, are the catchy and cheesy Feed my revolver, the brilliant Assassination, and the epic Red Winter Sirens. Also I'd add to the list Skin Crawl.

The production is simply amazing as the whole sound. If you pay attention you can discover something new with every listening. That's how music should be, and Mind's Eye have understand it, because they can create an album full with details, both complex and easy listening.

I think the only inconvenience of this CD is the length, but that's not a big problem, is a matter of opinions. Some get tired of this to fast, like me in the first listening, but after that I realize this album was sure one of the best CDs that I've heard in a long time. Actually I'd say this is one of the best works of the decade, not only of 2007.

From the liner notes of the CD/DVD A Gentleman's Hurricane:

On a dark and foggy day in September, three shots are heard in the deep dark woods of The mother of Presidents state Virginia. Adam Evangelista, a 53 years old retired top assassin whose ice cold walls have been worn down by his now continuing growing guilt, searches for an answer to it all, like we all do at one point or another. He acknowledges that he can't continue without finding a way to ease his mind.

Seeking refuge at the town's own church and the now retired head priest Father Cavallero Di mori, coincidently visiting his old church and parish. Adam tries to get into the depths of his own disturbed but at the same time genius mind. Describing his life and assassinations for his now new made friend father Cavallero during sessions of confessions. Both men reveal deep secrets unknown to the outside world. Dark secrets they both are ashamed of, linking them to each others past.

Adam's sins and stories stretch from Sweden, Ireland, Italy, France, former USSR, Mexico and USA. Taking orders from the well known secret society The Illuminati. Adam's marks are some the most important people in our time, but there is a catch, he has only seven days to pour his heart out before his very last job and time is running out.

Twelve Murders in Seven days. So little time ... So much to tell...

The Mind's Eye are a 3 piece consisting of Johann Niemann - Bass and all guitars, Andreas Novak - Lead Vocals, and Daniel Flores - Drums, keyboards, string arrangements and all harmony vocals. The story concept and all lyrics were written by Daniel Flores. He also wrote all the compositions except Ashes to Ashes, Red Winter Sirens, Skin Crawl, Say Goodnight, and Pandora's musical box which were written together with Johan Nieman. The band produces their albums in the studio without any rehearsals or live sets.

This album doesn't waste any time pulling you into the story by the first track Praying for Confession. The mood is set with an eerie beginning and an introduction to your main characters Adam Evangelista and at the end of the track Father Cavallero Di mori. Then it goes right into Seven Days which is a rocking track which holds and conveys most of Adam's guilt. Assassination contains a great chorus and this track becomes the basis of Adam's justification for what he has become and what he must still do. Chaos Unleashed shows his job like nature, but he continues to struggle, and the piece adds tension to what is to come. In Hell's Invitation he craves salvation, but knows he's doomed. All this builds up to the track Feed My Revolver where we meet the head of the illumanati and gives Adam's his orders which he carries out. (This is the Video that is on the DVD which explains a little more of the story). Ashes to Ashes In Land Lullaby he finds that he has a daughter and now must separate his two roles of being a father and beast. The Hour of Need is a relatively short track where he meets Norma Jean. Red Winter Sirens he travels to Russia and meets with the russian man, this a relatively slow track where his fellowship has ended. Skin Crawl he witnesses that he sheds the skin like a snake and watches blind justice for the crimes he's committed. I'll stop here describing the tracks because I certainly don't want to give away the ending are Graveyard Hands, Say Goodnight, and Pandora's Musical Box.

Cast of Voices: Bobby Vellucci as Adam Evangelista. Chris Catena as father Cavallero Di mori. Andy Craven as Head of Illuminati. Mia Coldheart as Norma Jean.

Musical Guests: Mia Coldheart vocals on The Hour of Need. Tommy Denander Lead guitar on Those Who Fear Rolf Pilotti Piccolo Flue, Side flute on song 11 and backing vocals on songs 9,10,12 and 13. Doyle McGraw Warpipes on Graveyard hands. Johannes Lindstrom and David Risberg vocals on Praying for Confession.

This album is very melodic with some good compositions. Although the raw emotion and extreme technical prowess are absent, it's still a very nice story with gifted musicians. The voice tracks are well done and not overbearing, so it doesn't get old like watching the same television episode.

I recommend this album to those who love concept albums and rock operas.

[I'll take a moment here to parrot what many others have already said about this phenomenal album.]

Take the best of Symphony X, Queensrÿche and maybe a dash of Pain of Salvation, and you have my favorite album of 2007. (I discovered it in 2008.)

The perfect concoction of prog, metal and melody, A Gentleman's Hurricane is one of those rare works that keeps the ear entertained with complex structure, and that penetrates the mind with catchy riffs and melodies. Virtuosity isn't the focus here, though the musicianship provides excellent support to the structure, incorporating an appealing balance of guitar, keyboards, vocals and drums. The music is rife with vocal harmonies that give the album a level of depth that rarely achieved in the genre.

The album holds true to its prog identity as it follows a story concept. The story is rather hackneyed, and the lyrics can be quite cliche (even hokey at times). This is easy to overlook, however, given the outstanding high quality of the music. In fact, it's often difficult to pay attention to the lyrics with so many other wonderful elements to listen to.

Each and every track is a masterpiece on its own, but the most exceptional of these include: Seven Days, AssassiNation, Chaos Unleashed, the radio-friendly Feed My Revolver and Pandora's Musical Box.

Mind's Eye was initially a progressive band where the main characteristic of the music was melodic and heavy. Some have termed them as marrying heavy metal and progressive rock, taking influences from bands like: Rush, Yes, Queensrÿche, E.L.O, Winger, Toto and Genesis. The embryo of the band started in 1992 when Johan Niemann (bass) and Daniel Flores (drums & keyboards) met Fredrik Grünberger (guitar). They first called themselves as Afterglow, recorded and made a self-produced, self-financed promotion CD named Afterglow. In 1997 they finally got a deal with a record company and recorded their first CD Into the Unknown for the American label. The album was well received in both American and German press. This "A Gentleman's Hurricane is my first introduction to the band. Based on this album I can say that the music of Mind's Eye is similar to Royal Hunt but with more energy in most of its compositions. Put it in more suitable category, the music of Mind's Eye (especially this album) is a heavy progressive AOR with song-orientated compositions characterized by catchy melody.

If you like Royal Hunt, you might love this one ...

The opening track "Praying for Confession" is a grandiose composition where the musical arrangement is quite complex and challenging with great string section plus great textures. I was so impressed with this opening track and I expected what follows would be something similar. As a matter of fact I could not rely the grandiose opening to happen in the next tracks. It's not but it does not mean the music is bad. In fact I really enjoy the second track "Seven Days" which characterizes the melodic and heavy style of the music. Yes, you might find similar riffs like Dream Theater but it's obvious that the music of Mind's Eye is nothing similar with Dream Theater. If one forces this way, it's probably very small portion of the music that fits Dream Theater music style. "Assassination" sounds like Asia performed in heavy mood. The next track "Chaos Unleashed" confirms the similarity of Mind's Eye with Royal Hunt especially during intro part.

"Hell's Invitation" is provocative title and it has excellent composition with riff-based rhythms section. The next song "Feed My Revolver" moves in similar vein with its predecessor followed by "Ashes to Ashes (In Land Lullaby)" which has a good combination between mellow and heavy parts. The guitar solo is stunning. Almost all songs share similar styles that sometimes make me a bit bored with the rhythm section. I know the as far as individual track concern, you cannot deny that the individual song stands out firmly as good to excellent track. But when it's combined into one cohesive hole I find there is limited diversities from one passage to another or one song to another. I know that the composition of each music is excellent and you might find that "Pandora's Musical Box" is an excellent example of their tight composition. The problem is there is minimum tides between high and low parts.

Overall, I would recommend this album for those who like AOR in heavier composition. The individual song is strong in melody and tight composition. It's an enjoyable album even though I feel "bored" after three-quarter part of the album due to not enough diversity as an album. Those who like Royal Hunt, Styx, Coheed and Cambria and Kansas would love this album, I believe. 3.75 stars overall rating. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

A treat in progressive metal! I got my hands on this album after seeing it on the Top 2007 records chart. It's been ages since I really apreciated Queensrÿche(while I still hold to that Operation: Mindcrime is a modern masterpiece), but this album brings back alot of love for a genre I thought I had left behind me. The old-school(ish) style of melodic progressive metal with emphasis on catchy melodies and structure. You can say that A Gentleman's Hurricane is alot like Dark Tranquility meets Queensrÿche meets Masterplan, and the mix is truly astonishing.

The album kicks of with some narration and a very omnious feel, and then moves on to 11 songs of stagering catchiness and vision. Seeing as it's a concept album I won't spoil it by analyzing every songs lyrics, but it is a suprisingly interesting story these swedes put togheter.

Overall musicmanship on this album is really good, while not virtuoso the main priority of the band does not seem to be to show off flashy chops, but instead to create a very solid, brilliantly structured base for the concept and the strong melodies to stand on. Also Andreas Novak really does a great job singing on this album, delivering both heavy and soft vocals without losing credibility or quality, showing off lots of versatility.

All in all, a great progressive album for those of us who enjoy the more cheesy-style of Progressive Metal. Well worth checking out even if you aren't a big fan of the genre.

4/5

I'll be the next person to say this: 'A Gentleman's Hurricane' is the 'Operation: Mindcrime' of the 2000's. MIND'S EYE have taken quite a different approach in this album. 1.) They wrote a story of an assassin overwhelmed by guilt who confides in a priest at a church in Virginia. 2.) They've become much heavier. Although each of their albums have gotten gradually heavier, but 'A Gentleman's Hurricane' knocks all of MIND'S EYE's albums out of the water. Bassist/guitarist Johan Niemann brings a much crunchier guitar sound to the table, and drummer/keyboardist Daniel Flores is now much more energetic behind the kit than before. 3.) They thought of a pretty neat packaging idea. Along with the standard album, is a DVD loaded with extras, and a booklet with lyrics printed quite cleverly and a comic strip that goes along with the concept found in the album.

MIND'S EYE's darker sound is quite apparent with ''Praying For Confession'', with a threatening, cinematic intro complete with a soliloquy from the main character, a child's choir, and an excellent performance from the band. ''Seven Days'' pops up out of nowhere with crushing guitars and solid rhythm. Andreas Novak shines vocally here. This is quite a catchy number, and my favorite off the album. ''Assassination'' opens with a Rudessesque keyboard motif and is another jarring track, along with ''Chaos Unleashed''. ''Hell's Invitation'' has another cinematic intro with a conversation between the assassin and the priest. Once again, it's heavy. ''Feed My Revolver'' is the best- known track off of the album. The song has an urgent rhythm with an arpeggiatic synth motif. ''Ashes to Ashes (In Land Lullaby)'' has a kinda weird intro, being mostly heavy, but for the chorus has a soft moment that looks back to the band's 'Into the Unknown' era. ''The Hour of Need'' is the sole ballad, containing a duet between Andreas and Mia Coldheart. The rest of the songs aren't much different, apart of the Celtic stylings of ''Graveyard Hands'' and the creepy rhythm of ''Skin Crawl''. ''Pandora's Musical Box'' closes the album the way it began, cinematically with a child's choir.

All in all, Mind's Eye have delivered their best album to date (and their heaviest.) Any fans of Queensrÿche or any heavy AOR-ish bands will be pleased here.

|B-| A powerful and brilliantly produced prog metal album with a great story.

Mind's Eye is a band that's been slowly rising in the ranks of prog metal acts, especially with their most recent release, A Gentleman's Hurricane. Here we have a pretty standard but quality prog metal album with an interesting storyline about an assassin, bringing Operation Mindcrime to mind, as others have mentioned. There are also some very slight power metal, AOR, and alternative rock influences mixed in, along with some classical, and even some folk in the track track Graveyard Hands, my favorite track on the album. These influences are blended quite well, making for a quite unique sounding release for the band.

Overall the album is of pretty consistent quality composition, with both some incredibly strong and slightly weaker moments. Vocal melodies are a prominent force in driving the music as well as catchy riffs, but combined with those two elements is some great keyboard work, drumming, and vocal harmonies, done by the brilliant Daniel Flores. The first half of the album is a bit stronger than the second, having the strongest tracks on the album (1-6), all of which I love. The second half has all good tracks, but the only outstanding ones are Red Winter Sirens and Graveyard Hands.

This was a strong release for this band, and I'm now more interested to see what the rest of their discography sounds like. There is a lot of great energy in this music. It's very inspired sounding, and the production quality sounds really top-notch to these ears, very impressive indeed, as is the storyline, filled with some good though slightly obvious symbolism. Astonishing music coming from three quite gifted musicians. I strongly recommend this album to prog-metal listeners especially. If you like bands of the more melodic and heavier nature, this is an album for your collection.

Definitelly-A GENTLEMAN'S HURRICANE is MIND'S EYE's most ambitious,complex,mature and elaborated album to date!It's a fantastic concept album in the vein of QUEENSRYCHE'S- OPERATION MINDCRIME album and has all the ingredients to become a classic album,a milestone of the genre!This pure masterpiece of modern progressive metal has all the ingredients of a very solid album,made by some fantastic musicians and includes all the contents of a solid and trully fantastic piece of true art!The whole concept of the story is very intriguing and interesting and the crescendo of the album offers the listeners pure moments of true musical delightment!The presentation of the album is impressive-MIND'S EYE is doing on this album the maximum that an album can offer -the cd plus the DVD-with FEED MY REVOLVER-video and the catchy MAKING OF and a great booklet-all in a DVD format slipcase! The music of A GENTLEMAN'S HURRICANE is close to 80 minutes and in the end we have the true feeling that we just had an audition of something monumental,a pure chef d'oeuvre-a masterpiece!DANIEL FLORES,the mastermind behind the concept is a very intelligent musician and on this album he pushed his limits of cretivity,innovation and componistic skills to realise a fabulous album ,very complex and complete!I don't think at all that MIND'S EYE has something in common with ROYAL HUNT!Absolutelly nothing-it's pure progressive metal of high caliber-nothing neo classical or pure metal here -and the keyboards are not at all proeminent and very present on this album!Johan Niemann is a very talented bass and guitar player-his solos are impressive and ANDREAS NOVAK is simply one of the best prog metal singers in the world-a magical voice with an impressive range ,register of expression !The album must be heard in it's integrality and it's difficult to make one evidence for a particular song,because all tracks are amazing,the FLOYD atmosphere is present because of the many interesting interludes with bizarre sounds and theatrical voices.I think that an album like A GENTLEMAN'S HURRICANE deserves to have a particular place in the collection of any prog music lover-even it's rock or metal-because this album is really IMPORTANT in the history of the genre!I don't know what future will bring to MIND'S EYE-because they have put so high the limits of creativity and musical skills on this album.5 STARS for a pure masterpiece!

It's good that the underrated Swedish band Mind's Eye found a wider audience with this release (threefold increase in ratings here on PA, nomination, according to the band's website, for several obscure fanzine awards). But I wouldn't call it their best. Part of the reason for its success lies with its populistic metallic approach, label promotion and the word of mouth of being a cinema-ready story of a political assassin. It's on par with previous Mind releases I've listened to (Work of art and Walking on H20) - cool art (its clear that a lot of thought and effort goes into these releases), melodic hooks, top-of-the-line clean vocals, conventional song structures, but enhanced with backing synths and off-beat multi-layered rhythms. Perhaps more streamlined (songs on earlier albums did feel a bit too long) and overdriven - drums and guitars pound, vocals hit snarlier tones, synths sound more mechanic.

Dont get me wrong - It's highly melodic, professional and listenable for fans of more complex, but not avantgarde, metal. Just would appreciate more variety along all the drama. And lyrics and spoken samples, frankly, are embarrassing.

On a side note, the creative leader, Daniel Flores, has a fascination with American Cold War history. References to JFK, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marylin Monroe, CIA and the "Apollo hoax", with leanings toward the conspiracy-minded school.