What link does Holland have with Venezuela? My first guess is they have closed a pact so the combination Netherlands-Venezuela delivers some good music. First with Agresion (however Cultura 3 was a bit of a disspointment) and now Mind Shelter, with 2 guys from Venezuela, 2 from Holland and 1 from Spain.

Musically it’s quite different from Agresion. Mind Shelter describe themselves as ‘electronico new-metal’. That’s exactly what it is. The beats from Pitchshifter and samples like in Linkin Park, Static-X and Orgy (thnx len) in combination with the emotinal nu metal from Thumb, Dry kill Logic or Darwin’s Waiting Room. It’s a combination that worked out very well. Most of the times it just ends with some industrial band that doesn’t know how to create emotions or a nu-metal band that doesn’t have the creative input to create atmosphere or cool beats.

Vocalist Bart van Elzen sounds a bit like the singer of Spiritfall (for those who know that band) as well as Jaap from Skip The Rush.

There is a load of emotion in his voice. Like in “Cancion Comercial” and “Close Encounters”, with which he will gain some sympathy from emocore fanatics. The guitars are tuned pretty low, comparable to the nu-metal sounds of Factory 81 or 40 Below Summer. They are efficient in the music and fit perfectly with the samples and electronics. No guitar solo’s or some technical math structures, but just an addition to the music as a whole. The bass sound is sometimes funky ‘zero gravity’. The same as the guitars, no strange things, but it reminds me of the Agresion bass sound. I personally think the bass is not mixed good in the music ( “Be Careful”), although it doesn’t irritate me.

This is a pretty good EP from these Dutch newcomers. Support the scene. Good nu-metal is not something only the United States deliver. Mind Shelter is on the move.