Split From the Mind – Split From the Mind
Whatever happened to music that comes from a place of sincerity? That’s the question Buffalonian act Split From the Mind (SFTM) aims to answer on their debut, self-titled EP. Sometimes it’s best to hear from the artist themselves when it comes to the mission and mantra of their music – check out what project mastermind Stephen Wright (vocals, guitar) has to say:
“I haven’t quite been grabbed by an act in recent memory that gave me the feeling I was listening to something timeless… [I[ just wanted to make a piece of music that I felt explored a time and place in history. I have longed for music like this, and I genuinely believe this EP meets a moment. Not because it has the best vocals, guitar play or production, but because it has the flaws of a human heart and spirit.”
Needless to say, a listen through Wright’s work (which also features Douglas Griffith Jr. on drums and Charles Sanfilipo on bass tracking) is a porthole straight into their hearts, and dare I say, minds. Inspired by hard rock and metal luminaries like Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, Queens of the Stone Age, and Audioslave, SFTM tap into the angst and rage found in the timeless artform that is rock and roll. Expect lots of riffs and impassioned vocals delivered with the aplomb of an artist who truly believes in what they’re creating.
From album opener, “Patterns Of..,” SFTM lay down a backbone of hyper-distorted guitars and thundering drums that chug and whirr with a deep anger. The TOOL influence here is welcome – you can hear it especially on Sanfilipo’s nimble bass work and when Wright starts pushing his vocal delivery to its emotional apex. This is when the band is at their best – Wright singing straight from the chest, channeling that fire within, while Griffith hammers the kit beneath him. “Falling..” is an excellent follow up too – finding Wright growling in a nu-metal inspired rhythm while a spindly guitar spirals beneath him.
Fans of the glory years of 103.3 The Edge (or whatever your local rock radio affiliate is) will find lots to dig into here on Split From the Mind. “Power Is..” channels Stone Sour with its quiet/loud dynamics, beginning with clean guitars and morphing into something intense and driven. It wouldn’t be a true rock album without some dirty words – the politically charged “For Fuck’s Sake..” takes that to the next level, dropping a hard-hitting “opinions are like assholes” line in a spoken/sung chant – truly no fucks given. The cleverly-named, start-stop “Spit From the Grind..” plays with empty spaces – showing these guys aren’t just always balls-to-the-wall – amping the song’s intensity by leaving the instrumentals a little extra room to breathe. Even album closer and album “slow jam” (if you could call it that) “A Beat in the Dark..” gets in on the heavy handed action, dropping some of the chuggiest moments on the album before exploding into an explosion of energy as the album concludes.
Split From the Mind is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna