Two things immediately struck me when I first met Mind. First off, the unusual amount of hair on lead singer Jason Smiths head, and secondly, how polite and shy they all were. For an energetic, enigmatic band like Mind, you'd think that they would be trying to live out the rock'n'roll lifestyle, but seemingly not. "Whilst a few other artists sing about booze and hoes, we like to thing about the human ways. The mind, if you like." says Jason. Over the past year, Mind have become one of the biggest names in metal, resulting in huge tours with bands such as
Blood of Wecz,
Reckoner and
Black Gold Reign. Both of their albums, and soon the be their third as well, have been critically and commercially acclaimed.
However, among all these highlights, there has been one massive low point. Not too long ago, their bassist Harry Thornton was arrested on claims of drug dealing, although he had apparently been clean for years. "We know it couldn't of been him. Trust me, we know when Harry's lying! Luckily, Black Gold Reign helped us and we've now got David Demmel temping for a bit. David's an awesome guy." claimed the guitarist Aaron Del Potro. With the mention of Harrys name though, the face of Robert Edwards, the drummer, drops immediately. "You know, Harry is one of my best friends. It's hard to see a guy as harmless as him go to jail for a crime he didn't commit." he says before adding "We don't know what's going to happen."
Back to the good now though, since Minds
The Aeronaut may just be their masterpiece. It combines many different genres and moods, yet manages not to alienate the long time fans. "The Aeronaut is my favourite Mind record so far. We've got a couple of tracks ready for the next album though, and I think that
The Cosmonaut may be even better than
The Aeronaut. You just have to wait and see." Jason says.
To add to the fact that the album is going to be released very soon, Mind have reached the semi-finals of the
Delta Tau Battle of the Bands and have climbed to first place, with the most points. "We're probably not going to win this. Have you seen our competition?
Reckoner, a band who we've known for a long time and who are ultimately one of the best rock bands around today,
Blood of Wecz, one of my fave bands and a massive influence on Mind and
Ryan Ross Hernandez, who is just amazing. Then yuo have us. We can always try though." Robert states with a tone of dissapointment, yet happiness.
"The
Birdies? Wow. When I first looked, I couldn't believe we were nominated for 4 awards. Not just that, we're nominated for BEST BAND! That's absolutely immense. Yet again, we have to just hope for the best, but you never know, dreams do come true. To add to that, Best Live Act, Best Newcomer and Sexiest Male for me! They're not bad either! He he." laughs Jason merrily as he makes the whole Terrorizer team a nice cup of tea, as well as his band mates. "Beer is nice, but nothing beats a nice cup of tea, eh?" When asked who they favour for the awards, Robert replied "There are lots of people who deserve to win awards. Yet again,
Reckoner and
Black Gold Reign could storm the best newcomer thing, while there are too many good bands to mention for the other catagories. I'd say that
Regan Futrell will leave with a lot of awards though, Amazing, amazing artist. As for best live act and best band, we're giving all of our support to the guys in
Blood of Wecz, who we're touring with fairly soon. Also,
Manifest 2010 should win best festival."
Minds next single will be a change in style, a fairly relaxed song, the title track off of the new album. "
The Aeronaut is still metal, but takes it in a much less metal approach. It's relaxed and the listener could enjoy it easily. It has huge traces of alternative rock in it too. Watch out for a music video coming your way soon."
As well as being in Mind, Harry collaberated with the
Jazz All-Stars before his arrest. "Harry did like a bit of jazz." Aaron reminisced "Sorry, i'm talking like he's dead. Anyway, i'm also collaberating with
Enoch on their new album, just to add. One of the best bands in the industry today." They talk highly of a lot of artists. Surely they can't like them all? "You know, we don't like to bullshit people. Of course, there are people we don't like and a couple we
loathe, but we wouldn't say them in a magazine. That'd be hypocritical. They're all just attention seeking fools." Jason said, smiling.
The interview with Mind has opened some eyes and has confirmed what some of the team thought about Mind. Contrary to rumours about the band splitting up because of Harry, and pulling out of live shows, they have been proven wrong. Mind are as strong as ever, and will soon be stronger.