Those who live in and around the Lexington area are likely aware that the city has a prominent hardcore/metal-ish (dunno the right words for it, heh) music scene, with bands such as Fathers Gun, Raptured, Dismal, and so many more, including the subject of today's review.
Quite an impressive show from the amazing people of Mindflare at the Molotov Skateshop on December 3rd. With high energy and heavy timbre, I think they're destined to become giants in the local scene. They're good friends of mine, too.
Having jammed with them once or twice (I played a synthesizer... badly), I am familiar with songs such as 'Ruby' and 'KiSMET' (I have a good recording of that one with me doing a bassline on synth). I really enjoy their newer material, like 'Penumbra' and 'CrustPhunk', the latter shown above, despite not being that into heavy stuff - I myself am more of a synthpop/new wave guy, so I tend to prefer a strong melody over heavy guitar playing, which isn't to say I don't like that every now and again, seeing how I listen to the Sex Pistols at times.
Guitar (Elijah), bass (Andromeda), drums (Caleb), and vocals (Alex) are the structure of the band. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. I'm a lot worse on guitar than I am on synth, so naturally I'm rather jealous of Elijah's skills. Oh well. They also utilize a lot of effects pedals, as I noticed while jamming with them, which likely made my synth sound even worse because I was playing it dry. With only three instrumentalists and one vocalist, they can really make quite a racket. Both times I was with them, I had no ear protection in, which might have been a bad choice on my part; they had a full container of earplugs I could have used.
The only criticism I have, which is minor, is one regarding 'Ruby' (which I'm not sure was actually performed at Molotov, as I wasn't there). When I had jammed with them, the notes I heard (rough order in which I heard them, not counting octaves) were [E ... F# G F# E D]. However, what I hear in the performance at Girls Girls Girls Burritos shown below (the owners of that venue are dicks, by the way), is [G... A A# A G F]. Admittedly, this is a major nitpick on my part, but I personally don't like it that much when the key is it key? I'm rather incompetent at what I do so I don't know these things off the top of my head varies from performance to performance. Honestly, Mindflare's been my introduction to the whole scene, so what the hell do I know? ...yeah, I don't get out the house much.
Overall, they get a 10/10 from me. If you're in Lexington, Bowling Green, or somewhere else around those areas, and you have the opportunity to see Mindflare, don't pass it up. No, I'm not just saying it because they're my buddies. I mean it honestly. They're damn good at what they do.
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