Sick Mind

"One of the bands I remembered playing with on a hot summer day in Lakewood, NJ at the failed Jersey Shore Music Festival a couple of years ago was a band called Sick Mind. I thought these kids were pretty decent and the best part about them? They were “kids.” Like Mötley Crüe stated in their spoken word song “In The Beginning” off of their Shout At The Devil record, “Those who have the youth, have the future.” At my age now, my dreams of being signed and touring are pretty much gone, but it was a great feeling to see that teenage angst and motivation in these young kids playing great music. I almost forgot about these kids in Sick Mind until I recently saw a photo post by my photog buddy, Jeff Crespi. So, I decided to check them out again and after listening to a few songs like “Jack In The Box,” “Wrekker” and the anthemic “Tight Aussie” off of the band’s website, sickmindrocks.com, I felt that these guys aren’t reinventing the wheel with music. They’re playing music that they enjoy playing and I enjoy listening to, which makes me feel good about the future of our Jersey music scene.

According to their bio, it took Sick Mind some time to get where they are today. After many of his bands fizzled out, guitarist Felix Skiver took it upon himself to search all over the state of Dirty Jersey to find musicians who shared the same passion and talent for music that he had. He found those qualities in fellow guitarist, Andrew Saul. The two began to write and build the foundation of Sick Mind. Skiver would soon tap bassist Jon Arban, a former bandmate and drummer Artie Revel to join the project. Sick Mind’s lineup was not complete and they knew they needed a powerful and charismatic frontman to round out their lineup, and in walked longtime friend of Skiver’s and Arban’s, Dominic Noviello. With a complete lineup, Sick Mind started turning out songs with catchy hooks and blistering guitar solos reminiscent of the ’80s hair metal era, which couldn’t come at a more perfect time. Sick Mind began working their way through the Jersey music scene and their sound began to catch on, helping them to hundreds of dedicated followers and growing.

With each band member of Sick Mind having influences ranging from ’70s rock to ’80s metal to ’90s alternative to the 2000s hardcore and sleaze, they’re a melting pot of some of the best music from the best decades in music! Sick Mind likes to look at themselves as the band that is bringing rock stardom back into rock and roll. They have a long way to go, but they’re off to a pretty good start. Their music is pretty good. I was listening to it while I was here at work prepping to write this column and my boss asked who I was listening to. It’s always a good sign when one of the bigger concert promoters in the area asks about the unsigned band I’m listening to. For more on Sick Mind, visit sickmindrocks.com." - The Aquarian

"Next, let us talk about the new song from a band called Sick Mind, with a track called “Jack In The Box.” I love their name, and don’t feel the need to get into a deep explanation of it, for you can sort of create one with your own, well, sick mind. Residing in Monmouth County, these guys are hard rock at its finest. Their music is much louder and faster than most, and I completely adore this track. This song is off of their new release, Nothing Bad Happens, Ever. The album sears with raw energy, rock swagger, and colossal guitar riffs fully capable of filling an arena. Although it’s compacted with solid jams, that one is my favorite. They provide appeal to many audiences of different genres, for I feel this track could be found on the radio or sang at a festival. This may not be their released single, but hopefully they’ll consider it, as it’s a solid hit rather than a mashup of toss-away filler. The album has a rhythm that pleads to be performed for a live audience, and should keep your toes tappin’ for a while. They maximize their hooks as well as their emotions. No matter what direction this band eventually goes in, I’m confident that they’ll always decide to release and create wonderful, extraordinary, and exciting music while connecting with fans through a great live show. As Sick Mind continues to gain more local attention, they should be looking to expand their touring outside of Jersey, for I think they would do very well on the road. They are young and have their whole careers ahead of them, so hopefully they take full advantage! After all, in their own words, “They are tired of all the crap being released these days.” Do yourself a favor and pick up their new record; it’s worth more than a few spins." - The Aquarian

"Let us introduce to you Sick Mind, a hard rock band from New Jersey, USA. For fans of Steel Panther, Guns n Roses, Motley Crue

Their album Nothing Bad Happens, Ever has certainly taken us back a few decades, with its many air guitar moment guitar solos and frontman Dominic Noviello’s 80’s style raw vocals. The music is a mixture of hard rock and hair metal, we imagine in a live situation the gigs could get quite raucous.

The album is very predictable, with each song having a very similar structure and feel. Sick Mind don’t leave a lot of space in their music which we think they could utilise to create a bigger impact. We can’t shift the feeling that this band are trying too hard to be in their genre, they aren’t showing who they are personally and lack originality. The musicianship could be tighter and more thought out to create intensity and movement.

We didn’t believe the vocalist in his lyrics for most of the songs, we feel lyrics are very important and couldn’t quite connect with what he was trying to say, it was all a bit blasé and to be honest at times felt quite fake.

However, our favourite track on the album was Cry Wolf, it felt genuine, which was a feeling that none of the other tracks gave us and the vocals sat very well. The melody of the chorus was very enjoyable ‘I won’t be fooled by your silly games’ and the vocals felt believable. The whole band seemed to work together well on this track, complimenting each other rather than fighting over one another, although the unnecessary guitar solo ruined it a little. Less is more, the less you use a guitar solo, the more impact it will have when you do use it, and we had already heard 8 guitar solos through the album by this point.

Overall, it ticked all the right boxes for a hard rock album, but it lacked originality which we think they will need to find to stay current in this ever-changing music world. When 80’s hair metal and hard rock was born it was new and exciting, but now it’s become cliche. Sick Mind will have to work hard to put their own stamp on the style, and they shouldn’t be afraid to do so." - Sound and Motion