Pestilence
Mind reflections

THE REVIEW

This album is reviewed more for completeness than anything else, as it is a compilation, an attempt at a best of the four Dutch deathsters.

The selection of songs was made by Monte Conner, a big name at Roadrunner. And it shows, as in the tracklist there is only one song from that masterpiece known as 'Spheres', which is Mind reflections. This confirms the fact that the record label did not really like the '93 album. Moving on to the actual album, it's worth noting the presence of Hatred Within, the song that allowed Pestilence to secure a contract with Roadrunner; it's a song in the style of 'Malleus Maleficarum', reaching a length of almost 7 minutes (!) and was released on "Teutonic invasion part II" compilation.

The rest of the album consists of six beautiful and captivating live tracks, among which Chronic infection and Out of the body stand out. Listening to the songs from 'Consuming impulse' with the guitars in 'Testimony of the ancients' style is truly exciting, the tracks gain an even deeper dramatic quality. And the result is spectacular, believe me. The songs are also well played and on bass is Tony Choy's replacement, Jack Dodd, who will later be replaced by the fusion-style Jeroen Thesseling. To find the album, you have to dive into the used market, because 'Mind reflections' has been out of catalog for years. A rare piece, therefore, which I recommend especially to those who want to discover the band's more than good live potential.

For those who do not know Pestilence, however, I do not recommend this album, as it does not provide a complete overview of the group's production. Listen to the other albums, especially 'Spheres', before moving on to 'Mind reflections'; you'll see if you don't agree with me. This best of gets a 3, which is mainly due to the excellent live part; the score does not go higher (I was actually tempted by a 4) because of Monte Conner's poor choice of songs.