There are two things about prog metal that metal fans may hate: talented but haphazard performances and not enough oomph. Prog metal musicians (and prog rock musicians in general) tend to take themselves WAY too seriously. They go way over the top, taking all of their talents too the extreme, and create albums that are either oddly structured or not structured at all, making the end result pretentious and, well, terrible. These kinds of bands also seem to not have the sense of urgency that most metal styles do. That’s not a bad thing by any means, it’s just that many die-hards of certain styles are closed off to others because of the stereotypes. There have been bands that have evaded one or both of those problems, namely Dream Theater, but it only lasted for a couple songs and didn’t carry throughout an entire album. Fortunately for everyone, Communic are not like that at all. They are a prog metal band that has the kick many of us look for and do it without an ego. ‘Conspiracy in Mind’ is their debut, and it’s a great debut. And to be honest, it’s probably one of the best debut metal albums to come out in quite a while.

Musically, mostly in production and overall tone, Communic come off as a prog version of Nevermore. The opening title track starts out with a punch, definitely something that’s not expected with prog metal. The first four songs are great, the highlight of them being the near-10 minute epic “They Feed on Our Fear.” That song is easily the best on the album. Great transitions from hard to soft melodies. Simply great. One other highlight is the song that follows, called “Communication Sublime.” Oddly enough, the chorus is a great sing-along of sorts. Amazing song. Yes, there is a ballad-like song here, titled “The Distance.” And no, it’s not crap either. Another great thing about this album is that it’s not too long. Most prog albums are often times too long, but this one is definitely not. At just under an hour, it’s perfect length. All the songs are perfect length individually, and there isn’t filler anywhere on here. I can’t say enough about this album. That’s how good it is.

The end result is amazing, and it gets better with each listen. When I initially heard the album, I gave it an overall 7. But as time passed, the album got better and better. Many people are saying that is a band that will become huge in the metal world. I have to agree. Assuming the sophomore jinx doesn’t hit, or they don’t split in the process, this band will go onto big things in our little niche in the music world. I urge you all to check it out. I almost assure you won’t be disappointed.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]