It is a rare occasion that I see an opening act and they really make an impression on me.  When I went to see UFO on their 2011 North American tour, they brought with them a band from Brazil called “Mindflow.”  I read all the press release materials and I even went online and listened to a few of their songs, but it wasn’t until I saw them live that it really him me.  These guys took elements of some of my favorite band like Rush, Dream Theater, and Megadeth and threw in some prog metal bits of their own and came up with a bunch of heavy, yet melodic, and intricate tunes.

The set consisted of tracks from their latest release With Bare Hands.  Songs like “Break Me Out” and “The Ride” are even better than on the CD.  Other tracks like “Reset The Future” and “Walking Tall” were catchy enough that they stuck in my mind on the entire ride home.  Rafael Pensado (drums) and Ricardo Winandy (bass) are as solid a rhythm section as you will find.  Both of them go beyond just laying a foundation for the other instruments by adding subtle nuances to elevate the songs to something more than just metal.  Rodrigo Hidalgo (guitar) and Danilo Herbert (vocals) were the icing on this prog metal cake.  Herbert’s vocals performance was as good as the CD, if not better (he wasn’t holding back at all) and Hidalgo kept things going with catchy riffs and melodic solos.  The band has been together for a number of years but they still managed to play with a lot of passion.  As I mentioned earlier, I don’t often get blown away by an opening act but Mindflow managed to create a new fan in me.  I was not the only one who walked away impressed.  A lot of the people around me gave them an enthusiastic reception by the end of their set.  They will be touring with UFO again later in the fall so I suggest you get there early and catch this band.  Go there with an open mind and you won’t be disappointed.