DEREV
Troubled Mind DEREV MUSIC
Multinational quintet get introspective on second album.
Technicality can sometimes overshadow emotion in bands with a progressive musical mindset. Derev are certainly accomplished but they never overplay when they don’t need to or get mired in the minutiae of the songs. Troubled Mind is all about the feels. Quite literally, in fact, as each song tackles a different state of mind, making it a sort of darker, prog version of Disney animation Inside Out. There’s an ebb and flow between tracks and a breadth of styles ranging from the melancholy resonance of Buried Voice to the sharper riff-driven Room 9 and the jazzy playfulness and wobbly prog synths of Paracusia. Derev also incorporate elements of drummer Michel Karakach and guitarist Armando Bablanian’s Middle Eastern roots, but these are worked deeply into the structures of the songs, emerging through melodies and subtle patterns rather than thrown on top. There is a metal influence at play, but it’s a measured one and while they reference Black Sabbath on occasion, Tides Of Time is closer to the psychedelic wash of Planet Caravan than the hulking riffola of Paranoid. An emotional journey and one that’s well worth an investment in effort.