“Mental reservation” was originaly released in 1995 six years after SCANNER‘s second album “Terminal Earth“. And while in “Terminal Earth” SCANNER flirted with a more melodic sound, “Mental reservation” is swift towards progressive metal. That should not come as a surprise for a shitload of German bands flirted with tech/prog stuff in the 90s.
In this one, SCANNER managed to uphold the melodies and the aggressiveness of their first two albums and upgrade their sound with a touch of prog: Its a win-win situation for the listener as you get speed metal classics like “Nightmare” and “Break the seal” alongside with prog stuff like “After the storm” and sweet conforting melodies in songs like “Your infallible smile“.
Yes, there are early thrash/speed traces here and there (like early BLIND GUARDIAN/RAGE) yet SCANNER tend to keep their choruses catchy and melodic. There are no lows in this album, only highlights like “Rubberman” and “After the storm“. Frankly, it’s safe to say that this is a masterpiece of 90s power metal. It has everything.
The sound is also great: muscular guitars along with the fat rhythmics and crystal clear production. Plus in this particular release you get the “Conception of a Cure” demo, a great chance for anyone to listen how the songs have evolved from a demo to an official release. This is a must have album for every serious listener.
Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
