MySpace a place for friends

Make no mistake about it: Hybrid Ice plays the kind of classic, over-the-top arena rock whose heyday was decades ago. That said, their mastery of the genre, and the winning combination of great songs with brilliantly-executed performances, make their new CD, "Mind’s Eye,” one for the ages. Boasting the kind of chops & muscle one associates with Boston, Foreigner, Styx and Journey (to name a few), “Mind’s Eye” packs the kind of hooks & musicianship to make 21st century standards of rockers like CD-opener “Fight Another Day,” or the powerful “Stop Searching.” On the original power ballad front, the band delivers the goods with flair & expertise on “Sadder Day Morn” and “Only the Lonely.” No song better sums up Hybrid Ice’s return-to-glory story, though, than “Worth the Wait;” with its hooks-laden chorus & soaring harmonies, it’s as good as any of Boston’s greatest hits. Although “Mind’s Eye” is only Hybrid Ice’s 3rd album (their 1st was in 1982), one can’t help but be amazed that these guys never broke through to national prominence. Their vocals, musicianship, arrangements, production and not least, rock ‘n’ roll passion, are not only dead-on, they’re genre-defining. But as bands like Nickelback lead the classic rock parade in the new millennium, Hybrid Ice’s “Mind’s Eye” CD need take no back seat when it comes to timeless & compelling rock albums.