Recollection
Again there is hope for American metal! Welcome Thoughts Betrayed to the great American metal fold, and we are blessed because of their entrance. Thoughts Betrayed is the result of a partnership between to midwestern guitar virtuosos, Zack Uidl (guitars) and Dave Cardwell (vocals, guitars, production). And they easily rise above their (so called peers) in this field. Both gentlemen are both players and instructors offering numerous instructional materials including videos. Mr. Cardwell has also released three metal albums under the name Raise The Shield in the six month period of September 2006-Febuary 2007. Cripes that more amazing than Todd Rundgren in the Seventies. I could go on with impressive biographical information about these to young men, but that would negate the point of this article: it's a CD review after all. I would (strongly) encourage you to visit the Thoughts Betrayed web site for more information.
Calling such bands as Nevermore, Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Outworld (wow, great band!) as influences, Cardwell and Uidl deliver sophisticated metal with a range of style: progressive, power, and pure power metal. Mr. Uidl is a master on the 7-string guitar (yes, this is new to me, too.), and he plays with skill and acumen. Mr. Cardwell reveals in his skills that he probably has more talent in his little finger than most musicians (particularly, the current trend of American rock and metal musicians) have in their whole being. He provides the vocals and does exceptional job, although I can (as always) do without the dirty vocals. Yet, Caldwell is consistently passionate and profound in his vocal delivery. Now on to the songs ...
There is no great mystery as to what is occurring here: this is an expression of the genius and creativity of two formidable talents. 'Disorder' begins the album and proves that these boys know basic melodic metal. After this is 'Reign' where you have your first taste of Mr. Cardwell's gruff vocals and the song is heavy, nearly raw, in performance. But let's move on to one of my favorite tracks. 'Long Days' is one of those highly unexpected numbers that throws you off kilter. In a short period of time you are blessed with a brilliant arrangement with smooth vocals. Another significant track is 'Retribution.' It has a more modern American metal feel without losing the melody that is so inherent in the stateside genre. Both Uidl and Cardwell really rip it up too. 'Vision' is the only instrumental track on the album and this duo truly shine. They could do this sort of stuff all day and I would be immensely pleased, another fantastic cut! My favorite song is, without doubt, 'Time' thanks to its intricate keyboards, soaring vocals, and Uidl's stirring fret work. 'Passage' is another song with a true progressive nature. Some may find it too complex to listen to. However, if you give it a chance you will be pleased. The work concludes with the melancholy 'Life,' a song that, on the surface, seems dark and foreboding, yet still reveals a spectacular mix of subtlety and focus.
'Recollection' is an exceptional accomplishment for Dave Cardwell and Zack Uidl. It has all the marks of significant American metal in a field where mediocrity seems to reign. Unfortunately, Thoughts Betrayed will probably be overlooked by both the American metal press and labels. It may only be embraced by our European friends 'across the pond' who have a sense history and an appreciation of melodic progressive metal. This is hardly for the American mainstream, even though it should be. 'Recollection' is great music. I encourage you to find and buy this album. (Check the Thoughts Betrayed web site to do so.) Highly recommended!
Thoughts Betrayed is the result of a partnership between American guitarists Zack Uidl and Dave Cardwell who are both phenomenal players and instructors. 'Recollection' heralds a promising future for American metal with exceptional arrangements and brilliant musicianship. This is pretty much a no-brainer; if you love progressive metal undergirded by amazing guitar work, you must find and buy Thoughts Betrayed first work, 'Recollection.'
DangerDog.com - 4.5/5
A simple CD-R with a few boring A4 pages was dropped into my post-box recently. Thoughts Betrayed is the band name and it is a two piece, made up of guitarists Dave Cardwell and Zack Uidl. One should not be prejudiced but somehow my expectations weren't too high. Ha! How wrong can you be? Never judge a book by its cover is proven right once again here. Bloody hell, what an album 'Recollection' turns out to be! As Dream Theater is very often mentioned as an influence, a band like Nevermore is also mentioned more and more. Cardwell and Uidl added some Symphony X and I also hear some Devin Townsend-like things here and there and so it is obvious that this album is of high quality.
Thoughts Betrayed is the first real band with these two guys, but both of them were active in the circuit already as session and instruction musicians. The decision to form this band will be proven right and wise because there is a great interest for music like this. Too bad that the promo was so low key but that also reinforces the fact that it is the music that is most important. A visit to the website shows that there ís a good and well fitting image given to the band. 'Recollection' sounds great, direct, full and in your face. The recording experience of these two gentlemen can be heard easily. The music features some great guitar solos and apart from that Dave Cardwell sings very well too! I'm quite amazed that this album has been created by just two guys because I hear a firm band with their feet firmly on the ground here. I'm very enthusiastic about this album and when they will tour in the summer of 2008 I hope for all prog metal fans in Europe that they won't be left out.
lordsofmetal.nl - 91/100
Thoughts Betrayed is yet another band that mixes a good number of genres - Recollection has a bit of everything from old school Heavy Metal - sometimes flirting with "light Thrash", Power Metal, Progressive as just some bare bones, tame melodic Heavy Metal. The result is quite interesting, taking the listener through a wide spectrum of sound and emotions, from piano interludes, to soothing, quiet melodic parts with some very melodic vocal work, and gradually getting more aggressive - or should I say more metal - with some more powerful, high pitched vocal work (think Power Metal style here), and even cranking things up a bit with thrashier moments with a much harsher, almost growly vocal style that's pretty much the opposite of the aforementioned melodic vocals. Musically there isn't much to complain about, however I found that the high pitched vocals were a little bit annoying, sounding a little "shaky", not unlike what you get from some European bands whose singer is trying to fight his accent (I can't come up with a better comparison. ;)) In a couple of songs, the keyboards do get a high reading on the fruit-o-meter, but at least they don't bury the other instruments. One does get used to it after a few listens, however, and the overall quality - both musical and vocal - pretty much makes up for it. If you're in the mood for something that's overall "mellow", yet metallic, this might just be what you need.
metalcrypt.com - 4/5
Thoughts Betrayed (that I will shorten to TB in this review) is a Thrash / metal / progressive band from Indianapolis, USA. Core members Dave Cardwell (vocals, guitars) and Zack Uidl (guitars) formed TB in the summer of 2007 and set to work on what would become their self-released debut album “Recollection.” Their style is influenced by artists such as Nevermore, Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Outworld. You then can place their musical style, metal bearing melodic vocals and keyboards, along heavy guitars. As one of the guitarist is a guitar teacher (appearing in some guitar magazines), you can expect good technical level. I couldn’t find info on the other musicians appearing on this album, so sorry about that… TB’s album is good technically, but not very innovating. The guitar riffs are not very memorable, however, some of the solos are quite impressive. The vocals are good, and goes sometimes quite high, and for some reason remind me of Supertramp, or even Kind Diamonds at times. However, I find them quite monotonous after a while. I listen through this album at the moment to really be into this review. However, nothing really stand out to me, I do not think I will keep the mp3s I have. I find the album quite flat. The keyboards are not very adventurous, and sound sometimes kinda like Evanescence. The drums are not mindblowing either, but I guess efficient for this album; however, the sound of it sometimes borders the sound of drummachines… I think the guitar works (especially solos) are the high point of that album, with really fast sweeping and other licks. Some songs border on DragonFrorce at times (which I do not really rate)… The overall production is not the best I heard, but it definitely doesn’t help this album sticking out As always, I keep saying that this is my opinion, and that you need to listen to their stuff, don’t take what I say for granted, as I am quite hard to please. But I will stick to Symphony X and Dream Theater.
guitarsattitude.com
