Mastermind (American band)
| Mastermind | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Browns Mills, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres |
Progressive rock Progressive metal |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels |
Lion Music InsideOut Records Avalon Marquee Records Cyclops Records Prozone Dutch East Records Zero-EMI Records ZNR Records |
| Website | Mastermind Official Website |
| Members |
Bill Berends Rich Berends Jens Johansson Tracy McShane |
| Past members |
Phil Antolino Bob Eckman† Mickey Simmonds Lisa Bouchelle |
Mastermind is an American progressive rock band from New Jersey, formed by the brothers Bill Berends and Rich Berends in 1986.
There is a power metal band in Japan also named Mastermind which has no relation to the better-known American Mastermind (although oddly enough, Jens Johansson did make a guest appearance on a Mastermind Japan recording).
Mastermind was founded in 1986 when guitarist Bill Berends and his brother, drummer Rich Berends, met bassist Phil Antolino. As a power trio, they were very much in the Emerson, Lake & Palmer style, with fast and flashy playing inside anthems of considerable grandeur—except with guitar and guitar-synthesizer leads instead of keyboards. That year, the band played many dates on the New Jersey club circuit, and recorded a self-produced cassette, Volume One.
Guitar Player Magazine columnist, producer & Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney featured Bill in his "Spotlight" column in 1988. As a result of this exposure and the overwhelmingly positive response to their live shows, Mastermind was signed to Magna Carta, the first band the fledgling label signed. Unfortunately, early startup delays hampered their release schedule, and Mastermind was forced to turn to a small independent label ZNR Records to finally re-release Volume One on CD in December, 1990. With this release Mastermind's reputation began to grow nationally and internationally.
Their second album, Mastermind Volume Two: Brainstorm, was recorded Winter 1988-Spring 1991 and released in January 1992, with an even heavier sound than the first. The 20-minute title track harkens back to ELP's "Tarkus" and has been a frequent concert highlight.
Between mid-1993 and early 1994, the brothers completed their third studio recording, Tragic Symphony, released in Japan in November '94. The album was released worldwide in June 1995 by Cyclops Records/GFT in Europe and by Dutch East India Trading in North America on their in-house Prozone label. The album also was released in Korea by Jigu Records, making for total sales far exceeding any of the band's releases to date.
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