CHEST ROCKWELL - MENTIS OCULI
AN ALBUM DEALING WITH THEMES OF RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY, THIS IS THE THIRD IN THE SEQUENCE OF ALBUMS FEATURING JOSH HINES ESSENTIALLY AS A SOLO ARTIST
As part of the development of this website, I have been uploading reviews I published for Prog Archives in years gone by. In 2011, I reviewed the Chest Rockwell EP Laugh and the World Laughs With You, and it was a favourable review. The sole remaining guiding light of this project, Josh Hines, clearly cares deeply about his baby, because he contacted me within 24 hours of the review being posted in the 2011 section of the Album Reviews by Year Page here.
When I wrote that review, I thought that the band had a bright future commercially, and, indeed, although I did not set pen to paper, as it were, the subsequent EP Weep and You Weep Alone was even better. In 2015, by the way, the two EPs were merged into a single album as the creators intended, and this can be purchased from the band’s Bandcamp page, www.chestrockwell.bandcamp.com
There was then a hiatus before Hines revived the project, this time as a solo performer – you can see the reasons for this and the relationships which still exist in my interview with him by clicking on the button below. Mentis Oculi is the third album in this sequence, and I was pleased to receive an advance copy for the purposes of this review.
As with all previous Chest Rockwell albums, this new work is not for the fainthearted. It is not the sort of album you will hear over the speakers at the local Italian restaurant bathed in candlelight with the prospective love of your life. It is, though, the sort of album which will be appreciated by those who love the heavier end of the progressive spectrum and those who like their music intelligent and adventurous. Again, if you look at the interview, you will see Josh & I discuss the themes within this album in some detail, so for the purposes of this review let us summarise this as being deeply philosophical and commentating on our relationship with religion, and its relationship with us.
The opening tracks, The Syrtis of his Patrimony and The Charybdis of his Possessions quite easily win the award for best named tracks of 2022. From the outset, the booming riffs and post rock sound provide a statement of intent. The vocals are fine, and I especially like the choral vocal effects Hines has produced to accompany his lead voice and there is an altogether hypnotic impact this song provides us with, and I enjoy the final half a minute when the track sinks into itself. “Charybdis” is a shorter track just under five minutes long and it takes the drama up a notch in terms of pitch and the guitar riffs, but it is a continuation of the opening track in terms of theme and musicality. Lyrically, it is extremely clever, placing gods falling from the sky in the hands of the receiving humanity. There is an expansion of the guitars just short of three minutes in before we hit a very thoughtful passage of music with more than a sense of menace in the proceedings. Hines shows his dexterity with a fine guitar solo before the main theme reasserts itself to close a very impressive track.
Homunculus follows. As Hines acknowledges, there is a palpable sense of doom in this track, and I love it. Anyone who enjoys a set of drums driving a piece of music along will be particularly pleased and more than a little impressed by the multi-instrumental skills shown. How would a god behave and think if they fell to earth? Would they dream of returning to “paradise”? This piece is, I think, the type of track that a certain Canadian power trio much missed by us all might have made had they been younger men in 2022 and, again, I really enjoy that lull in intensity in the final half minute, but still propelled along by the thumping drum riffs.
The Cartesian Theater follows with a deeply personal reflection on religion. The metallic guitars backed by a single, but effective, bassline provide an introspective beginning to the piece before the drums herald an expansive track and “the anger of the gods” inflicting many miseries is a theme which will resonate very strongly with both atheists such as Hines and believers such as his wife and I because we do genuinely struggle to understand the human and earth condition. The music throughout perfectly encapsulates that sense of grief, anger, and yearning for understanding.
The album closes with an epic twenty-two-minute piece of music, The Old Man of the Mountain, which relates, incidentally, to Hasan-i Sabbah of The Order of the Assassins known by Marco Polo, who believed him to be a charlatan tricking young men into his cult.
Mentis Oculi is not an album which will appeal to all readers of this review immediately, but all reading it should most certainly give this track, which I have embedded below, a few listens because I genuinely rate this as one of the finest tracks of 2022. As befitting an epic track, it is the fulcrum around which all else should be judged.
The instrumental opening section is extremely heavy, yet intelligent in its almost monotonous underscoring riff with a guitar segment rising above it. The scene is complete when the full rhythm section enters and as it develops that sense of doom returns to your speakers. The main segment of the track kicks in at four minutes in. Lyrically, it brings together all the overarching themes dealt with before, how we exist within the divine. This passage is fierce and it fair races along with deeply heavy frenetic doom-laden riffs pushing us.
As can be seen from my interview, I was struck halfway through the track by a very strong and enjoyable change in tempo. The ghostly guitar solo we get here is exceptional and the riffs which underpin it are oriental in their impact. We then get a segment which is so obviously inspired by classic UK Midlands heavy metal, I simply smiled because this is not the sort of effect American musicians have historically done very well. There are no such worries here and these two minutes fascinate before we then segue seamlessly into a soaring guitar loop underpinned by more vastly heavy riffs. Hines provides a vocal here which is very well understated, because the conclusions he reaches on our relationship with religion and the perennial problems with who, precisely, is to blame do not need to be shouted out, they require careful and considered thought, and it is this which sets this epic apart from much of the black metal about. It is a damned sight more thoughtful, and all the better for it.
The opening segment of the track then reasserts itself both musically and vocally before we come to the final one and a half minutes which is just about the best epic conclusion of 2022. The guitars are anthemic, they are loud, and as proud as you will hear. It is a fine conclusion to a fine track.
So, how to conclude? The final epic hooks you in with frightening ease. On the whole, Mentis Oculi is a thoroughly enjoyable album from a dedicated and talented artist who I respect a great deal.
Highly recommended.