About this time 20 years ago, I was rocking out to songs from Nirvana's ground breaking Grunge release, Nevermind. That album soon turned out to be a smash hit, that opened the door for other Grunge bands in Seattle, and abroad. But in recent years, innovative releases in the genre have been few, and far between. Marching Mind is a young Grunge band, who have added a new spin to influences from some of the earlier practitioners of the genre. They hail from Vancouver and have been touring primarily in the huge country of Canada.

They groove with catchy melodies, shifting the musical accents, as is prevalent in much of Soundgarden's music. Their style of Grunge favors more of a mix of Metal and indie rock, instead of utilizing influences from the Hardcore Punk genre. Many of their songs exhibit a powerful guitar driven sound, with complex compositional structures. Most of the incredible guitar passages, are played through at an invigorating tempo. The ear shattering fret board work of Chris Neal, hits each intricate pattern of notes with technical precision. His electrifying guitar hooks remind me of those by Tommy Talamanca from Sadist.

I haven't been able to get access to the lyrics, to read them for myself. But in a You Tube video, vocalist Jeremy Tardiff, describes the stories behind some of these songs. So it seems that their songs take on themes of science fiction, at least 2 of them involve a rebellious robot. Jeremy's vocals are softly sung at times, occasionally reaching a falsetto pitch. This is usually included in the choruses, which harmonizes wonderfully with the musical scheme. They sound somewhere between the style's of King's X and Pearl Jam. He usually sings as a tenor, but sometimes with a throatier delivery, to enhance the emotional atmosphere in the more dramatic parts of their songs. His vocal traits bear a strong resemblance to the skilled singing of Daniel Johns from Silverchair.

The vocals are distributed sparingly throughout the album, so that they don't detract from the breathtaking musical arrangements. Jeremy also plays the keyboard and the piano. These calmer interludes give some of the songs a dreamlike ambiance, that mirrors the more relaxed approach of Pearl Jam. This usually stands out during periods of beautiful acoustic guitar strumming. Every once in a while, this is fused with an electric guitar solo, playing 1970's styled rock licks. Sometimes it displays a skillful funk sound, which reminds me of Jeff Beck's old works.

At the present time, this debut release is all that they've got to offer us. But it's more than enough for now. The album features 10 tracks, that combine for 50 minutes of modern Grunge music. Marching Mind have broken some new ground here in the 2010's. They've progressed the intensity of the instrumentation and attack the genre from a volatile new angle. This might potentially be the advent of a new subgenre; Progressive Grunge. They ought to break loose from the Canadian scene and tour South of their border. There are plenty of Grunge fans in the states. Hell!!! The genre was founded on this side of the border anyway.