Mindivide: Fragments

Mindivide is an Italian-German melodic heavy metal quintet fronted by female vocalist Rosanna Taormina. The rest of the band is comprised of Markus Kollmannsberger on bass, Alex Schulz on drums, Stefano Mancarella and Vito Taormina on guitars… and Fragments is their debut studio album.

“Fragment 28� is a smartly chosen opener for the album, a solid song that basically contains all what this band is about. The two guitars constantly combining riffs and exchanging leads, the fat, heavy and precise rhythmic section, the hypnotic vocal harmonies, and the perennial hooks. “Skull� brings the real first heavy punch where the metallic riffs dialogue with the theatrical vocals and the catchy choruses, very well put together. “At Your Whim� is a good song, not within their best material here, but still very enjoyable… I just think it’s too grungy sounding and sometimes feel the drums are a little off sometimes, just my perception, however the formula is getting clearer and more consistent by the minute.

“D.I.D.� Is my favorite song in the album, both for the amazing guitar riffing (and soloing), unique and hooky as hell, and because of the post-chorus outro melodies, that wah-wah pedal behind the vocals, and perhaps the best drumming in the record.

“Reign of Mediocrity� might have the catchiest of choruses but at the same time is the one I find weaker on the musical aspect, we are already halfway through the album, and everything starts sounding a little too similar, although the remaining 4 songs are stronger and more memorable than this one… except maybe for the last song… more about that later. “Children of Nonsense� is unquestionably hit single material, it has that obscure 90’s metal punch enhanced by the vocal melodies and heavy bass lines that, in some way, also define this band’s musical proposal. “Timeless Spaces�, great guitars and bass guitar team, very melodic and intricate, hypnotic vocal harmonies by Rosanna and AIC (is impressive how Cantrell’s tone has influences the melodic metal scene) sounding bridge into the powerful chorus. The same footprint continues with “Beauty Insane�, same formula with the soft sounding intro, the operatic vocals, and the heavy and creative riffing… only that this time some brief growling has been added to the narrative, a teaser for future outputs? Hope not! The music and execution are still fantastic. “Home� is the most progressive metal sounding song of the album, and Rosanna delivers some of her best vocals yet, nothing sounds different but just before entering boring land an exquisite instrumental middle section rescues the listener as the band closes the album with a heavy and very melodic ending. Very solid record.

Track Listing:

1. Fragment 28 (5:51)
2. Skull (5:04)
3. At Your Whim (6:32)
4. D.I.D. (6:54)
5. Reign of Mediocrity (5:15)
6. Children of Nonsense (5:26)
7. Timeless Spaces (6:07)
8. Beauty Insane (5:37)
9. Home (6:30)

Added: October 17th 2022
Reviewer: Jose Antonio Marmol
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 527
Language: english

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