Review Summary: ChatGPT сказал:
Blending atmosphere, intricacy, and raw emotion, Mindfractures stands out as a remarkable progressive metal release from India, one with the depth and character to captivate listeners far beyond its borders! For fans of Opeth, Aga
I have been following Fallen Letters since the moment of its inception and was super excited to see them become a fully equipped quartet. Finally, the band is ready to present their long-awaited album, Mindfractures.
From the get-go, the obvious Opeth influence is noticeable in the overall atmosphere of the longplay. It starts as a whim, but eventually becomes a very satisfying source of inspiration with the unexpectedly bleak and haunting melodies, the abundance of sound effects, and multilayered solos. While the band members name Opeth as one of their spirit animals, their sound is more complex than average prog metal worship.
The signature aspect of songwriting in Fallen Letters is the integration of alternative metal tropes, such as simpler riffs and whispering, murmuring clean vocals. From Deftones to Tool, there is a little something in the developing world of Mindfractures: those ’90s pieces suddenly switch with blastbeating metal madness, which adds to creating a unique blend and style.
The genre diversity becomes the trademark of Fallen Letters, and somewhere mid-album, one begins to recognise the pattern of shuffling musical hooks. The band is not afraid to throw in some choral (like real choral) backing vocals, instantly jumping into the eerie metal ranks, only to immediately replace it with borderline post-rock vibes. Such a transition can be noticed in Submatrix to Drenched. From out of nowhere, a heartbreaking sax appears in the thread, and it is not for decoration only; it has a real presence and purpose.
Monochrome Visions is one of the gloomier and doomier numbers on the release, featuring a relentless bell sample, evil keyboard parts, and an absolutely devastating riff in the middle of the song.
Eventually, we get to the old-school version of Fallen Letters in Beneath the Opaque Veil, which reminds me of the first single released in 2023. Dark, captivating parts collide with merciless melodic metal double bass and such.
The album concludes with a solid progressive track, "The Farthest Window." Weirdly, it reminds me of Alice in Chains, as well as Leprous. The song breaks the seven-minute mark, which is taking a risk – it might be a chance to lose the listener’s attention, meaning losing the epic amount of work put into it. But the band manages to keep it dynamic, so the risk is worth it.
With three songs being longer than seven minutes, three longer than six, and just one shorter than five, Mindfractures reminds us that a metal album can truly be long and interesting at the same time – such math works for me.
