Review: Mentalist – Earthbreaker

Pride & Joy Music (April 11^th, 2025)

Reviewer – David Pearce

Mentalist are a German band who I first had the pleasure of listening to in 2022 with their fantastic third album ‘Empires Falling‘. Much to my delight, they’re back with album number four ‘Earthbreaker‘. The line up of Peter Moog and Kai Stringer on guitars, Thomen Stauch on drums and Rob Lundgren on vocals are the powerhouse quartet making up one of the best bands around. So, without further ado, let’s listen to their latest album.

The first track, ‘Earthbreaker’ sets the ball rolling with the driving guitars of Moog and Stringer demonstrating their power and virtuosity. Backed with Thomen Stauch giving his drums a massive workout the song is a wall of intense heavy metal that provides the basis for Rob Lundgren to prove that his vocals are amongst the most powerful around. It’s an amazing start to the album and a declaration of intent.

‘March on Legionnaire’ continues the heavier element with a song that covers similar lyrical ground to Iron Maiden with a real flair. Lundgren once again nails the vocals as he moves up and down the scales with ease and power. ‘Event Horizon’ is a tour de force for Stauch with the blistering speed and constant intensity showing himself to be one of the most incredible drummers around.

‘Millions of Heroes’ takes the intensity down a notch to really good effect with an elegy to those who have fallen. The choral backing vocals support Lundgren really effectively on a song that shows another side to Mentalist.

‘Lord of the Wasteland’ is a showcase for Moog and Stringer who provide a masterclass in guitar playing that soars and swoops as they show off their skills once again. It is not as heavy as the first three tracks which is very effective, as the lower intensity coming off the back of ‘Millions of Heroes‘ ensures that the album sounds like a completely coherent piece of work.

‘All for One’ has a sound which gives the listener something different to many other groups from the norm. It is, for want of a better phrase, European and it’s a style that blends the metal with a more power pop influenced sound. It really hit the spot for me as, vocally, it’s as strong as anything on the album.

‘Mistress of Pain’ returns to the intensity of the first few tracks with all four of the group members in perfect unison. ‘Monkey King’ starts with the background sounds of a jungle appropriately enough. It’s a fun track that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

‘Together as One’ is the penultimate track and the guitars sound like a statement of intent. The drums and vocals weave their way in and out of the track showing a group that are in total harmony and definitely together as one.

Final track ‘A New World’ starts with a softly strummed Spanish style guitar and develops a clever interplay between the individual group members that shows their confidence in one another. It’s a really mature and intelligent piece of music that ends the album in the perfect way.

I really enjoyed their previous album ‘Empires Falling‘ and ‘Earthbreaker‘ is just as good. Make no mistake, Mentalist are one of the best around and I hope that they develop a fanbase in the UK that will encourage them to tour in the not too distant future. I will definitely be getting a ticket and hopefully many others will when they realise how good Mentalist are.

Track list:

1. Intro
2. Earthbreaker
3. 3.March On Legionnaire
4. Event Horizon
5. Millions Of Heroes
6. Lord Of A Wasteland
7. All For One
8. Mistress Of Pain
9. Monkey King
10. Together As One
11. A New World

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