I have always felt that Progressive Power Metal pushes a little out of the edge. It may be so because I have a kind of contraditory relation to Progressive Rock, the mothership to all Progressive Metal acts. For that reason, I feel some discomfort when I have an album labeled that way because, sometimes, it means the license to put under Metal music’s umbrella other genres or musical influences that I absolutely do not think goes with it. However, time has been showing that I am wrong to think that way because Metal music has been so resilient and proved that those external influences have been all beneficial.
Ok, then, that said, there are many reasons that place “Cairn” as a very unique album. The very first is the constant presence of Blind Guardian‘s music in the album. To some extent, from where I am standing, Blind Guardian are a very underrated band which deserved better. Second, and I guess the most important, Parallel Minds add some very uncanny and original features to their music and to Metal music at all. Some people call it ethnic, but I guess the right term would be ancestral because “Orishas” and “Colonias” present the African features from the tribal and spiritual intensity of Arka’n Asrafokor and Silveira Lakoélé Atalawoè. These features relate directly with ancestral religions that are present in the Americas most notably in Cuba and Haiti, for instance. I confess this is the first time I hear a band using this kind of sonancy. Third, these varied, and uncanny, influences reflect directly into the album’s music making it at the same time very modern and traditional.
“Cairn” explores the stories of peoples and cultures through time pointing out the suffering, the fights and human renaissance besides our resilience. It commences musically very Symphonic Power Metal oriented with the grandness of its title track “Cairn” and the following the fast and heavy “Sufero.“ Interestingly, “Sufero“ has the most standard sonancy of the album. I am not saying it is bad, it is only predictable comparing to the other tracks of the album. Even though the lyrics and some hidden details point to its diversity, the track does not dive deep enough in to the atmosphere it would do. “Cairn” is an album with very unpredictable tracks as we will see here. It is the following track “Orishas” that goes deeper in to African tradiotional and religious chants, however the track does not dive into the use the world famous percussion. Here the guitars riff in order to mimic them creating a very heavy effect that addresses directly to Sepultura “Roots.” I’d say “Orishas” is a Power Metal song with African influences, not the other way around. Traveling around the world, there comes “Bhopal” which is about the industrial catastrophy that took place in the eponymous city. The song has a huge and strong presence of Indian music. To some extent, “Trail Of Tears” addresses to Europe’s “Cherokee,“ a song that the same tragic story of the Cherokee people when they were realocated to the reserves.
It is not only the human experience that makes “Cairn” a great album, it is also the way Parallel Minds add their influences keeping their Power Metal identity clean. Parallel Minds are a Power Metal with influences, not the other way around and this a very important thing to achieve.
Parallel Minds “Cairn” was released on March 20th.
Track Listing:
1. Cairn ft Johann & Lu [Asylum Pyre]
2. Sufero ft Johann & Lu [Asylum Pyre]
3. Orishas ft Rock [Arka’n Asrafokor] & Lakoélé Atalawoé
4. Bhopal ft Mathieu Gehin [Muhurta]
5. Trail Of Tears ft Michael Rose
6. Sekigahara
7. Troubles
8. Colonias ft Aileen & Gabriel Fradet
9. On Both Sides
10. Fear Is The Pandemic ft DevF [Stone Horns]
Watch “Sufero” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!