Mesmerize - Off The Beaten Path

*=Staff's pick	Argos Died Twice* King of Terror Off the Beaten Path* Jail TV Warriors (When the Battle Calls)* Pit of Charming Snakes Where Skye Meets the Sea Doom of the Darksword The Ancient Prophecy Overdoze Gates of Mercy

Genre	Heavy Metal	Folco Orlandini	Vocals
Tracks	11	Pierro Paravidino	Guitar
Runningtime	56 Min.	Paolo Chiodini	Guitar
Label	SPV	Andrea Tito	Bass
Release	25 Feb. 2002	Andrea Garavaglia	Drums
Country	Italy	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	---

Off the Beaten Path is the third release from Italian Mesmerize but they're a new acquaintance for me. And a nice one too.
According to the band's info they're a dedicated quintet that's (quot) "a reincarnation of the True Spirit of Heavy Metal as it used to be in the glorious days when bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Dio, Judas Priest and Saxon ruled the scene".

And this is definitely traditional pure and honest heavy metal of a very high class and on a few songs one also finds very strong power metal parts. Another good thing too is that Mesmerize is definitely not just another "Italian Rhapsody copy" but a band with a style completely their own. Off the Beaten Path is a great album and contains just what a good metal album should have. I have in the time of writing listened to the album three times and this is one of those nice releases that constantly keep getting better and better. It was very hard to choose tracks for the staff's pick 'cause they were all very good and altogether this makes Off the Beaten Path a very compatible metal album.

The overall sound is very melodic heavy metal with very good vocals from Folco Orlandini. This singing is of the high-pitch kind but in a very good way and just cut for the sound. The more power metal influenced tracks and parts of other songs are also extremely good. But what I really love about Mesmerize is the choruses and above the fantastic midsections on many of the tracks. Here we can find very melodic and rhythmic guitars and outstanding choir sing-alongs.

My opinion is that this band really lives up to their name. Their music is very mesmerising and I have to be the better man here and admit that I loved it. But since taste is such an individual thing I can't recommend that you buy this album unheard no matter how much I want to. I hope though that after listening to Off the Beaten Path, and you definitely must, you'll appreciate these guy's musicianship and love for heavy metal because Mesmerize deserves all the attention and credit they can get.

This is a great heavy metal release and so worth adding to your album-collection. No dust collector - just a serious explosive detonator!