Mentalist
Empires Falling

They seem to be a diligent group, the guys who form Mentalist. They have now released three albums since debuting in 2020, with a very good debut I should add. The second album was quite praised among fans, considered by some the best power metal album of 2021. I didn’t review the second album, but I praised the first one – In listened once or twice to the second album, but never had time to review, and thought that it was a step back compared with the debut. This new one has their Mentalist figure on the cover, and the cover looks quite interesting once more – but what about Empires Falling?

The style is classic German power metal, very well fronted by Swedish singer Rob Lundgren who adds a lot to the sound of Mentalist. The production is really good, with likeable soundscapes and a hint of freshness. In terms of style they do not come up with anything that feels original, we have heard it before many times, but they perfect the craft in many areas, and that makes up for a lack of originality in some way. The album varied for its style, and it needs to be considering the long playing time. I think they could have done away with the two bonus tracks as they add nothing to the whole, just makes the playing time pass the hour which is just way too long for almost any album.

I was weighing between four and five for this album, I like the sound, those great songs like the opening pair and Noah’s Ark even though the latter is, in many parts pretty much a rip-off of a song from a German Power metal band with a longer history. Those many positives are in parts negated by a way too long playing time, the ever-present lack of originality that plague the music scene of today. So, which of the two wins out? In the end I think the positives are the stronger and you can swolidify that point by throwing away the four final tracks of your digital music library – they only add time, but no worth.

With Empires Falling I think Mentalist cements themselves as one of the best power metal bands to emerge in the last decade. They have a lot going for them and Empires Falling is a very good album with some excellent tracks. You shouldn’t expect anything unexpected as the metal genre have long since lost its rebellious streak and sense of adventure – that is especially true for power metal and in this regard Mentalist is no exception. But they are a great band who certainly can make great songs – well worth checking out if you enjoy power metal.

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