Cline's Mind was started back in 2004 by Tom Cline as a solo project. After the release of the first album Evil Within in 2005, the project was put on hold to pursue other music endeavors. Beginning in 2017, the release of Where The Sleepless Go EP was the rebirth of Cline's Mind. Björn Strid of Soilwork was featured on 3 songs on the EP along with Mike Lacey. Mike would then become the voice of Cline's Mind on the next 5 albums. Tom Cline has been playing metal for 36 years. Main influences are 80's thrash bands such as Exodus, Testament, Metallica, Slayer, etc. Other various artists such as Dio, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden are also big influences. The last 2 albums, Dead End Road and A Beautiful Chaos introduced more of a metalcore feel to a lot of the featured tracks. But with all albums, you can find many different styles of metal throughout to appeal to the masses. Notable guest musicians featured on previous albums are: Sean Long-lead guitars on One Nation Under Hell. Chris Clancy of Mutiny Within and Jamie Stewart of The Absence were featured on individual songs on the Souls of the Lost album. Eric Castiglia-Guest vocalist on the song Destiny from the album One Nation Under Hell.  

Going forward into 2021 and beyond, Cline's Mind will continue to deliver it's signature sound with crazy riffs, brutal drums beats and killer vocals. April of 2021 will be the 7th album release and the most brutal and intense installment yet. Three new additional musicians will be featured as well. Alex Fuhr on drums and Jobam Martins adding his technical neo-classical style guitar solos. Jay Beecher has been a guest bassist in the past few albums. He is now the full time bassist for the new album coming out in April 2021. Stay metal my friends!!

Ben Howard returns with his 4th album, Collections From The Whiteout, produced alongside Aaron Dessner (The National). The foreboding darkness that coated Ben’s second record I Forget Where We Were and thinly veiled its follow up Noonday Dream, isn’t so evident on Collections. These are songs written from headlines scanned, or news stories scrolled past, providing inspiration for a selection of vivid narrative snapshots – the death of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst (Crowhurst’s Meme); Russian fraudster Anna Sorokin (Sorry Kid); the man who stole and crashed a plane in Seattle (The Strange Last Flight Of Richard Russell); and the dismembered body a friend of his father found in a suitcase floating along the Thames (Finders Keepers). Alongside them, the personal anecdotes from the same scattered period living between Paris, Devon and Spain. Yussef Dayes features, as does Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), James Krivchenia (Big Thief), Kyle Keegan (Hiss Golden Messenger), and Dessner. Thomas Bartlett, St. Vincent’s go-to pianist, and Rob Moose, a long-standing arranger of strings for Bon Iver, are also present. Long-term guitarist to Ben’s band, Mickey Smith (A Blaze of Feather), remains a reassuring constant. It’s a sonic adventure that continues this nagging suggestion that Ben is one of the UK’s most inventive and naturally talented songwriters. CFTW is his latest opus, and arguably his most fully realised to date.

Ara H is following