Parallel Minds [IMPORT]

Conception

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Prodigee
• ASIN: B000006XR1
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,957 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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 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)

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 Conception's Best? Not Quite..., June 13, 2002

By	Joe White (Layton, Utah United States) - See all my reviews

European power/progressive metal outfit Conception only released four albums before the broke up in 1997. It's unfortunate that this band is no longer together because they were very good. Parallel Minds is their second release. Conception's style on Parallel Minds is a good mix of progressive metal with some power metal tendencies. Take special note of vocalist Roy Khan. He's one of the best singers in all of metal.

1. "Water Confines" - Excellent riffs from guitarist Tore Ostby greet the listener as this medium paced rocker begins. Vocalist Roy S. Khan soon comes in with his incredible vocals. Sounding a bit like Queensryche's Geoff Tate, Khan has range, power and emotion. Khan and Ostby make up one of the best vocalist/guitarist duos that have graced metal over the last ten years.
2. "Roll the Fire" - This song is a bit slower than the opener but just as heavy. I've heard people say that Conception is one of the better, heavier Dream Theater clones. They are haevy and they're very good but they aren't Dream Theater clones. In fact, I don't think Conception sounds like Dream Theater at all. While Conception does have some similarities to other Dream
Theater influenced bands like Vanden Plas, I have yet to hear a Conception song that reminds me of Dream Theater.
3. "And I Close My Eyes" - Similar to "Roll the Fire", track three is a good rocker that contains some more excellent guitar work by Ostby.
4. "Silent Crying" - This is beautiful ballad with some really cool Spanish guitar-type playing by virtuoso Ostby. This tune is very moving and emotional.
5. "Parallel Minds" - The title track is aggressive and contains some really speedy moments (for Conception) and a soaring chorus. The problem I have with this song is the lack of a strong finish as the chorus just kind of wimps out at the end. Still, this is a good song.
6. "Silver Shine" - The guitar work in this song is fabulous; they are strong and clear. The vocals are sung in a lower range in the verses but soar in the chorus. This song showcases Khan's range as a vocalist. The song has its good points, but overall it isn't that great, but I'll live.
7. "My Decision" - "My Decision" is a slow-paced but heavy song that has some creepy vocal harmonies and unusual melodies. It is the most unique song on the disc but that doesn't mean it's great. It's okay.
8. "The Promiser" - This song wanders too much for me to really get into (I tried) and the vocal melodies of this medium paced rocker never take off for me. My least favorite track on the CD.
9. "Wolf's Lair" - I didn't like this one too much. It kind of left me cold. It is a medium paced rocker (where have we heard that?) but it never truly grabs me.
10. "Soliloquy" - An epic that clocks in over eight minutes, this track boasts some interesting guitar work and some really melodic vocal lines. The song is divided up into three parts and all start off slowly and pick up as it goes along. Part 3 is especially good. Overall, this is a pretty strong song.

Parallel Minds is another good album from Conception. I like their final release (Flow) best but this CD is still a good, even with its drawbacks. I don't really know who to compare Conception to. Dream Theater doesn't fit. Maybe they're a little like Vanden Plas or Superior. Either way, Conception plays a hybrid of power metal and progressive metal. If you like slower, crunchier power/prog, you'll like Conception (I hope). A lot of people wish Khan and Ostby were still together. They'd probably be making good music if they were, but I wouldn't trade Khan's material with his new band, Kamelot, for the world.

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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.