Mastermind (American Band)
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Mastermind is an American
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band from
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, formed by the brothers Bill Berends and Rich Berends in 1986. There is a power metal band in Japan also named
Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...
which has no relation to the better-known American Mastermind (although oddly enough,
Jens Johansson Jens Ola Johansson (born 2 November 1963 in Stockholm) is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist. Jens got famous in the early 80's when he and his brother Anders (drums) joined Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force". Jens is the son of the Swedish Jazz ...
did make a guest appearance on a Mastermind Japan recording).


History

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 Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...
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 ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contained articles, interviews, reviews and lessons covering artists, genres and products. The magazine was last edited by Christopher Scape ...
columnist, producer &
Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...
founder
Mike Varney Michael Varney (born 1958) is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also owns 50% of Magna Car ...
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 (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
, 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 In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''The ...
/GFT in Europe and by Dutch East India Trading in North America on their in-house
Prozone The hook effect refers to the prozone phenomenon, also known as antibody excess, or the postzone phenomenon, also known as antigen excess. It is an immunologic phenomenon whereby the effectiveness of antibodies to form immune complexes can be impa ...
label. The album also was released in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
by Jigu Records, making for total sales far exceeding any of the band's releases to date. In 1995, Mastermind opened for
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
's acoustic tour by playing a special unplugged acoustic show, and also opened for
Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...
. By early 1996, their fourth album, ''Until Eternity'', was completed and released in Japan that June. It was released in Europe and North America in October 1996. With album sales strong and interest high, the first two Mastermind discs were re-released in Europe and Japan and the band set off to tour the globe. In 1997, Mastermind performed live headlining in Japan, played festivals in Europe, supported Rush in New Jersey, and opened for
Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
(of
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
fame) across America. In June 1997, Cyclops released a limited-edition ''Live in Tokyo'' disc (recorded earlier that year at On Air West), which quickly sold out its limited (1000 copies) edition. As 1997 wrapped up, the brothers decided it was time for a change and famed Swedish metal keyboardist Jens Johansson (ex-
Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
,
Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band. Formed in 1984, they have released sixteen studio albums, six DVDs and six live albums. The band's line-up has changed many times, with no founding member left since the departure of drummer Tuomo ...
) was invited to record with the band. The band spent most of 1998 completing their album with Johansson, ''Excelsior!'', which was released at the end of 1998. The new group debuted at Baltimore's POWERMAD 1998 festival in August. ''Angels of the Apocalypse'', the second album featuring Johansson, brought in mezzo-soprano vocalist Lisa Bouchelle to shake things up. The album featured a version of ELP's "The Endless Enigma Parts 1 & II". More touring followed, and the album was released in 2000 by InsideOut Records. In 2001, a live album (recorded in 1999) was released on the band's own StellarVox Records label. Finally in 2005, an extended-play CD single (44 minutes) was released, featuring two tracks from forthcoming studio album plus a version of
A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American Rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool (band), Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle released three of their ...
's "Weak & Powerless" and four tracks from Mastermind's extensive concert repertoire recorded live in the studio in 2005. In February 2007, after keeping up a blistering touring pace for twenty years, performing every year between 1987 and 2007 in the USA, Europe, and Japan, the Berends decided to shift gears somewhat. They started a cover band, calling themselves Berends Bros. Band (BBB), to have a little fun with their roots of blues & old school psychedelic blues rock. Recruiting blues rocker John Benussi on bass from a local
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
tribute act Axis they play a repertoire of favorites both old & new. The band performed live for the first time in March 2007 to great response, and have played extensively around home (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) throughout 2007. The Berends brothers have also played as The Berends/Wilson Trio (abv. BWT), a journey into the music of
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
with Ed Wilson on bass & vocals. After five years, Mastermind released the long-awaited Insomnia album in February 2010. Extensive audio and video clips of all Berends brothers bands can be found on their website. After moving to São Paulo, Brazil, Bill Berends formed a new version of Mastermind in 2019 with Brazilian musicians Gabriel Costa (
Violeta de Outono Violeta de Outono ( Portuguese for Autumn Violet) is a Brazilian psychedelic/progressive rock band from São Paulo. Heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Gong, they were originally a post-punk band ...
, Gong Global Family) on bass and Carlos Camasi on drums. With this line-up the group played a few gigs, most notably the 3rd Totem Prog Festival in São Paulo in 2019.


Members


Most recent lineup

* Bill Berends - guitar, midi-guitar, synthesizer, vocals * Rich Berends - drums, percussion * Tracy McShane - lead vocal *
Jens Johansson Jens Ola Johansson (born 2 November 1963 in Stockholm) is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist. Jens got famous in the early 80's when he and his brother Anders (drums) joined Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force". Jens is the son of the Swedish Jazz ...
- keyboards (studio)


Former members

* Lisa Bouchelle - lead vocal, acoustic guitar (1998–2000) * Bob Eckman (deceased) - bass (1992–1993, 1998–2000) * Phil Antolino - bass (1986–1989, 1994–1997)


Touring musicians

*
Mickey Simmonds Mickey Simmonds (born 31 January 1959) is an English session keyboardist, arranger and composer. He is best known for his work with progressive rock acts, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance, Camel and Fish. He has also worked with Joan Armatrading, ...
- keyboards (1999) * Laura Johnson - bass, vocals (2005–2007) * Mike Fillius - bass (2005) * Greg Hagen - bass (2002–2004) * Marty DeSantis - bass (2002) * Tim Spillane - bass (2000–2001) * Mark Stavola - bass (1989–1992)


Additional musicians

* Chris Eike - bass - ''Insomnia'' * Hollis Brown - violin - ''Angels of the Apocalypse'' * John Paolini - vocal - ''Angels of the Apocalypse'' * Mike Mironov - percussion - ''Excelsior!''


Discography

* ''Mastermind Volume One'', 1990 (ZNR Records USA, Cyclops Records UK, Prozone Records USA) * ''Mastermind Volume Two: Brainstorm'', 1991 (ZNR Records USA, Cyclops Records UK, Marquee Records Japan) * ''Mastermind III: Tragic Symphony'', 1994 (Zero-EMI Records Japan, Cyclops Records UK, Prozone Records USA) * ''Mastermind IV: Until Eternity'', 1996 (Cyclops Records UK, Marquee Records Japan, Prozone Records USA) * ''Cyclops Sampler'', 1996 (Cyclops Records one exclusive track) * ''Live in Tokyo'', 1997 (Cyclops Records limited edition) * ''Excelsior!, 1998 (
InsideOut Records Inside Out Music is a German progressive rock record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Centu ...
) * ''Angels of the Apocalypse'', 2000 (
InsideOut Records Inside Out Music is a German progressive rock record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Centu ...
) * ''Prog, Fusion, Metal, Leather & Sweat - LIVE!'', 2001 (StellarVox Records) * ''Broken'' (CD-Single/EP), 2005 * ''Insomnia'', 2010 (
Lion Music Lion Music is a production company and record label founded in 1989 by composer and artist Lars Eric Mattsson. History Lion Music was founded in 1989 by Lars Eric Mattsson as a production company to handle production and licensing for his recor ...
)


References


External links


Mastermind official website

Bill Berends official website
* All-Music Guide entry
MySpace entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastermind (American Band) American progressive metal musical groups American progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1986 Inside Out Music artists