Label: Stormy River Records / Irascible Music Release: 2014 Style: Heavy Rock Tracklist 1. Final Bet (intro), 2. Russian Roulette, 3. Wooden Monster, 4. Stress 5. Stormy River, 6. Impression Betrayed, 7. On The Rocks, 8. Dirty Thoughts 9. Need, 10. Love Kills Slowly, 11. Global Eyes, 12. Nature’s Wayward Child, 13. Feed It

The Swiss band Grey Monday from the canton of Bern released their second album "Monster Mind" in 2014 through Irascible Music / Stormy River Records. In 2006 their EP "Nonetheless" had been released and their debut "XIII Sharp" had been released in 2008. Their music is heavy rock. "Monster Mind" was produced by Patrick Pfister, V.O. Pulver and the band . The drums and guitars were recorded by V.O. Pulver at Little Creek Studios in Gelterkinden, Canton of Basel- Country, Switzerland. He also took care of mixing and mastering. Additional guitars and everything else was recorded by Patrik Pfister at Interstellar Sound Studios. Swedish artist Linda Jansson was responsible for the artwork. It shows a hungry brain, which wants to devour the planet Earth and for this has a knife in his hand to cut it into strips. On "Monster Mind" the quintet weaves an interesting soundscape with influences from styles such as grunge, alternative rock, stoner and metal. Thus, the sound comes up with a lot of variety and takes the listener on a musical journey. The explosive "Russian Roulette" marks the start and with "Wooden Monster" follows a number with an alternative touch. After "Stress" a ballad sounds with "Stormy River", before the hit "Impression Betrayed" brings back the hardness. "On The Rocks" and "Dirty Thoughts" continue the same way. The second ballad "Need" again provides a quieter moment before the loud sounds are back with "Love Kills Slowly" and "Global Eyes". After the instrumental transition "Nature's Wayward Child", "Feed It" closes the album. What stands out very positively is the varied voice of singer Patrik Pfister, which sounds very rough but always fits the mood in harder and quieter parts of the songs. He‘s supported here with background vocals by brother Dominik Pfister and female vocals by bassist Jazz Wyssmann. Guitarist Michael Portmann provides the melodies with lead guitarist Dominik Pfister and bassist Jazz Wyssmann fits into the sound picture with her bass playing. Drummer Stefan Häberli provides shouts. Overall, "Monster Mind" has become a good album. Check it out if you like soundscapes from different styles. 7/12 Review by Dominic Latscha