Conspiracy in Mind is the debut album of Communic, a young norwegian tech-metal band. The band started out as a project in March 2003 by Oddleif Stensland (Ingermanland, Scariot) and Tor Atle Andersen (Scariot). They were soon joined by Oddleif Stensland's former band mate Erik Mortensen (Ingermanland), and to complete the line-up for this album Danish keyboardist Peter Jensen (Sinphonia) took part in the recordings.

The music on 'Conspiracy in Mind' ranges from hard-hitting metal to tranquil still water sections. Although there are only 7 songs, this album spins over 57 minutes. As one may deduce, there aren't any songs destined for radio play (the shortest song is 6 minutes and 44 seconds). Therefore one might call Communic's music "progressive", but I prefer the term 'technical' (as it gives better description about their music). Communic blends various metal genres into their own cohesive sound, thus making their music hard to categorise. Once again the world receives a new band that almost has it all — technical proficiency, witty song structures and ear for felicitous 'freaky' parts (yes, it's always great to be surprised by the band's imaginativeness).

Production-wise Conspiracy in Mind has two sides. On one hand, the sounds are very apposite (the mixing has been done exceptionally well). On the other hand, this album has been mastered to the limits (both clips and distortion occur few times). When listened with near field monitors or quality headphones, this album sounds really good (if one ignores the occasional distortion and clipping). However, the sound quality on lower budget stereo systems won't do any justice to this album. If only this album had been mastered properly, the production would have been 9 and a half.

If you have become intrigued, my advice for you is to check Communic out (you might regret if you don't). Conspiracy in Mind is a very good debut album despite its flaws. The only flaws it has are mastering and few not-so-felicitous sections (however, all songs have their good parts). To quote Nuclear Blast's description "Conspiracy In Mind will appeal to fans of such classic bands as PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, SANCTUARY / NEVERMORE, CANDLEMASS and even the more modern Metal acts such as SOILWORK or IN FLAMES." However, Communic isn't as progressive as Psychotic Waltz, I'd say Communic's music is more similar to that of Nevermore's. Actually some have gone as far as calling Communic Norway's Nevermore.

Release date: 21.02.2005

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- MAGE (28.01.2005)

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LINE-UP:
Stensland, Oddleif: Guitar, Vocals Andersen, Tor Atle: Drums Mortensen, Erik: Bass with Jensen, Peter: Keyboards
Producer:	Communic & Hansen, Jacob
Mixing by:	Hansen, Jacob
Mastering by:	Hansen, Jacob

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Conspiracy in Mind 02. History Reversed 03. They Feed on Our Fear 04. Communication Sublime 05. The Distance 06. Ocean Bed 07. Silence Surrounds