Anyone who ever read the liner notes to Pretty Hate Machine knows that Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. Well, it can be said that Mark Mendieta is Subject to Thoughts. He plays the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and does all the vocals on this recording. The first demo is called The Thought Process and was provided to me by the man himself.

In the music, a definite sense of Opeth’s softer side is immediatley noticeable. From the ambience that is created, it is clear that they and earlier doom like Black Sabbath, Candlemass and even My Dying Bride are notable influences on the music. It seems that their styles are all somewhat co-opted to form a unique blend of music. “Falling Into” seems to evoke these styles well. The recording is not the best quality sadly. This may be because I was listening to a tape however. The sound quality would probably be much improved if the demo was released on CD. There is no question that it took talent to write this demo however, Mendieta is not a virtuoso on each instrument he plays. I give him credit for being a multi-instrumentalist however should he record again soon, I would advise him to find a different guitar player. His keyboard work, on the other hand is astounding and he should make this even more the centerpiece of his band.

I look forward to hearing from Subject to Thoughts again soon. This is a good demo and only shows flashes of a future of brilliance.