What is the first thing you think of when I say Switzerland? You probably think of the Alps, cheese, snow and banks who launder your dirty money. Some might even think of chocolate; you know, the one with that purple-white cow. Let me narrow down the term; what do you think when I say Swiss metal music? Hah, got you there, didn’t I. Celtic Frost, Coroner, Samael and maybe even Krokus (for our older readers) are probably the most know bands from the high peaks of Switzerland.

Grimind (a contraction from ‘grim’ and ‘mind’) are from Switzerland too, you might have guessed that by now. The band was founded in 1997 in Lausanne and recorded a demo and a MCD thus far. And here we are in 2004, Grimind just released their second MCD and still don’t have a record label. If the so-called ‘love metal’ of HIM is so popular, why can’t Grimind be popular? Unfortunately, that’s not up to me.

I like the music played on Escaped From Life. It reminds me of Paradise Lost during the One Second and Symbol For Life eras; atmospheric metal with a lot of keyboards and synths. Singer/guitarist David Agócs has a good voice; it’s more polished (so to speak) than the voice of Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost).

After a really atmospheric intro and four good songs, Escaped From Life closes with “In Your Room” from Depeche Mode. To be honest I’m not familiar with Depeche Mode, so only after a peek in the cd-inlay I found out this song was a cover. The fact that I didn’t notice it was a cover is a good thing I guess. The Depeche Mode song blends in with the music of Grimind; so thumbs up for these three guys from Switzerland.

So, if you’re interested, visit these guys’ website: www.grimind.ch and place your order. I know they’ll be grateful!