Parallel Minds [Import]

Conception | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Pinnacle UK
• ASIN: B000006XR1
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,681 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Second Album from the Norwegian Power Metal Trio Originally Released in 1993, Sporting the Revamped Lineup of Vocalist Roy S. Khan, Guitarist Tore Østby, Bassist Ingar Amlien, Drummer Arve Heimdal and New Keyboard Player Hans Christian Gjestvangand. Even Surprising to the Band, the Album Climbed Into the Top 30 of the Japanese Charts, Giving them a Solid Base in at Least One Country of the Pop World.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music that lives in the stratosphere, October 24, 2008

By 

Brent D. Sorenson "maidenfan816" (Cedar Rapids, IA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Parallel Minds (Audio CD)

Before the mighty Kamelot, there was Conception. Khan played with this amazing band in the 90's and they recorded four albums together. In Your Multitude is the best prog-metal Conception CD. However, in my opinion, Parallel Minds is their best pure metal CD. Two of their best songs are on here, "Roll The Fire" and the title track. The guitarist, Tore Ostby is playing on a level that very few guitarists ever reach. His blistering leads, icy-blue tone (reminiscent of Kirk Hammett's lead tone on Ride The Lightning) and incredible riffs combined with Khan's excellent singing make this a very memorable CD. The band is in absolute top form here. They have gone beyond the top of the mountain and into the stratosphere.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conception's best if you like the "metal" part of prog metal, September 26, 2002

By 

David M. Sobecki "docsobeck" (Fairfield, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Parallel Minds (Audio CD)

I think the entire Conception catalog is great, but this is easily my favorite Conception album. I like prog metal a lot, but I lean a lot more toward the "metal" side than the "prog" side. Among Conception's albums, I think this is clearly the hardest and closest to power metal.

But that most definitely does not mean that it's dull or formulaic. The band did a terrific job of keeping the elements that make Conception so groundbreaking - they just metallized it a bit more than other albums. If you're a pure metal fan that's interested in checking out Conception as an example of how good prog metal can be at its best, I would think this would be your best bet.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but less ingenious than other Conception albums., April 2, 2001

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parallel Minds (Audio CD)

I didn't discover Conception until recently, and it was quite a discovery. The Last Sunset, Conception's impressive debut, featured many typical characteristics of a band's first record. A bit of naiveté, an imbalance between ambition and songwriting, and so on, but nonetheless, it made a good impression. Parallel Minds, Conception's second release, shows the band's budding maturity that would come to full bloom on the subsequent In Your Multitude and especially Flow.

Parallel Minds' rhythms are fairly straightforward, and song diversity is a slight problem, but it's still a great metal album. It has a solid punch of insatiable riffing, fiery tempos, and impassioned vocals (Roy Khan is one of the best voices in metal, in my opinion). The progressive tendencies demonstrated in the debut are more interesting this time around, especially in the 9-minute piece "Soliloquy," which offers a ferocious mix of ardent guitars, piano, and a mix of loud and quiet passages. (But they are NOT a progressive metal band!) Other than the largely acoustic ballad "Silent Crying," most of the tracks are carnivorous metal cuts. Check out the menacing riffs of "Wolf's Lair," the chugging viciousness of "Roll the Fire," or the crushing title track. You'll see what I mean.

If you enjoy Conception, I recommend hunting down their debut, The Last Sunset. I believe it's out of print, but it's worth owning for a complete understanding of this great band.