Conception
Parallel Minds

It is true that beautiful things end quickly... and so it was for Conception. The Norwegian band was like a passing cloud in the prog-power metal landscape, but it certainly wasn't a cloud that brought acid rain! On the contrary, the band left us with four truly remarkable albums filled with power and melody united to create a unique sound! Four pearls that could have easily been more if they hadn't disbanded in that cursed (at least for them) 1998, but which nonetheless remain impressed and will never tire listeners.

Among these is a certain "Parallel Minds," dated 1993, a masterpiece where all the group's potential comes to light: powerful guitars with a distinctly power matrix (which dominated in the first work), a powerful and epic voice of an always impeccable Roy Khan but also a significant emphasis on the melodic side with noteworthy keyboard work consisting of intense and deep backgrounds and sometimes even more psychedelic sounds. And it is precisely this definitive integration of keyboards that gives the album a distinctly progressive approach after a debut album more markedly power. The band's sound thus stabilizes on a progressive-power metal that will be confirmed in the next two works. The 10 songs on this masterful album all seem to have been written to leave an indelible mark. Among the most powerful, we recall the opener "Water Confines," with its fast pace and great vocal effects, "And I Close My Eyes" and "Wolf's Lair." The more refined atmospheres can probably be found in "Parallel Minds" (one of the best on the record) where the keyboard notes create an exceptional background, in "Roll The Fire" where heavy guitar riffs are caressed by a determined and continuous keyboard layer, and in "The Promiser" where the keyboard effects in the verses stand out alongside the vigorous choruses. A song worthy of attention is "Silver Shine" where the band proves capable of perfectly alternating melodic moments with more aggressive ones: softer verses, sweet keyboard notes accompanied by perfect drumming, then the rage is unleashed on the chorus where powerful guitar riffs take over. And what about the ballad "Silent Crying," the best ever realized by the group, based on the melodic keyboard background and a delicate acoustic guitar; a concentrate of emotions in just 3 minutes and 16 seconds, surely it could have lasted longer but to move is enough. Pleasant "My Decision," a masterpiece closure with the 9 minutes of "Soliloquy," an alternation of power, melancholic arpeggios, perfect and masterful orchestrations, and psychedelic sounds.

Truly a great album! Conception will be able to repeat themselves with the excellent "In Your Multitude" and a good "Flow" where perhaps they lost some power. The band reunited in 2005 but unfortunately only for some live shows. We hope to see them at work again one day with a new album!