Stepping aside from his main group Born of Osiris, Lee McKinney decided to change his sound and approach music from a new perspective won his debut album, Blending elements from jazz into his unique sound of melodic deathcore guitar, McKinney shows he can do more on his signature Keisel than mindless shredding and carpal-tunnel inducing triplets.
The album begins with “A Clock Without a Craftsman," McKinney shows that he is a master of melodic guitar as the lead riff washes over the listener, the deep rhythm adding to the depth of the song. One of the new, experimental sounds of the album follows the intro. Smooth saxophone plays alongside the drums, leading to a build with the rhythm guitar that transitions back to the clean, melodic riff that kicked the song off.
Second on the album is “Amanuensis," which means artistic assistant. Bass begins the groove, with the signature guitar fading in over the drums, a slow, uplifting riff that McKinney harmonizes with. The speed changes throughout the song, moving from quick riffs to slower, more emotional guitar solos and back again.
Track three, “Rising Tide," starts by creating an ambient soundscape that McKinney begins to structure the rest of the song with. The drums and guitar erupt at the same time, giving a small taste before leaving once more and allowing the saxophone to take the spotlight. The clean guitar sounds like falling rain, each muted note is picked in quick succession is kin to rain drops, letting the saxophone finish the song.
“The Wind and the Sun” sits as song number four, drawing the listener in with an incredibly catchy guitar riff that will be stuck in the listener's head for hours after the song has finished. There are quick, emotional and melodic solos filled in between breaks of the main riff. If this song doesn’t make your fingers itch to pick up a guitar, nothing will.
Continuing the album is “A Neverending Explosion," low chugging guitar riff and deep drums pave the path for soft, clean guitar that transitions into the distorted beauty that this album showcased in the previous songs. Even with the simplistic song structure and repetition, “A Neverending Explosion” stands tall on the album and was a perfectly chosen as one of the singles to tease the album.
Coming in as the sixth song, “Astrolabe” keeps the groove of the album moving, letting the guitar riff take center stage. The sound of the main riff echoes throughout the entire song, each branch and deviation from the original riff has the same, indescribable tone while bringing something new. “Truthsayer” follows, creeping in with a distant and distorted guitar before everything, the drums back away for the lead guitar to take center stage. Each note sounds as though it was specifically picked to occupy each single moment, sculpting an argument from perfectly crafted words.
The title song “Infinite Mind” concludes the album, a stuttering ambience laying the foundation for the instruments to mold the song. “Infinite Mind” is the perfect title song for the album, for it encompasses the sound and the feel of each song that came before. The switching of the quick melody to slower, more emotional notes describes the journey the listener takes throughout the album. If there was one song to win over the listener, “Infinite Mind” showcases everything that this album has to offer.
Infinite Mind is quite a step back for McKinney, allowing him to take a step back and branch out from the chaos of Born of Osiris. With his Keisel by his side, McKinney will have an incredibly bright solo future, spreading groove and provoking thought one note at a time.
Cole Space is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted by email at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cole_space.
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