Mindgames is a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The band was founded in 1997 by Eric Vandormael (bass) and Bart Schram (vocals). After placing a few ads in music magazines they recruited Benny Petak (drums, percussion) and

Tom Truyers Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

(piano, keyboards). In 1999 as a four-piece they recorded a demo, featuring the songs ''Mental Argue'', ''Signs From The Sky'', and ''Dreamin' The Circus''. In 2000

Rudy Van Der Veken Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

(guitars) joined, so completing the line-up of the band. The end of 2002 saw the release of their debut CD ''International Daylight'', an album that shows the strong influences on the band of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

, Jethro Tull,

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of A ...

. Later on ''International Daylight'' came to be distributed by the French label Musea Records. Thanks to this, the band received wider exposure and garnered favourable reviews internationally. Mindgames subsequently built up a strong live reputation, taking time off in 2005 to compose new songs. At the beginning of 2006 the band released their second album ''Actors In A Play'', produced by

Frank Van Bogaert Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

. The

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

is a six-act story, focusing on each of the 'actors' in turn before finally coming to the inevitable conclusion that the world is itself just one giant play. The CD sold especially well in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Irreconcilable musical differences, which became apparent during writing and recording ''Actors In A Play'', resulted in the departure of co-founder Eric Vandormael. His replacement

Maximilian von Wüllerstorff Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459– ...

made his debut on bass for the band's third album '' MMX'', released on New Year's Day, 2010.

Discography

*''Demo'' (1999) *''International Daylight'' (2002) *''Actors in a play'' (2006) *'' MMX'' (2010) *''Paradox of Choice'' (2015)

Band members

*Bart Schram - Vocals, acoustic guitar *Tom Truyers - keyboard, piano *Sandro Starita - guitar *Maximilian von Wüllerstorff - bass *Benny Petak - drums, percussion *Rudy Van Der Veken - guitar (2000-2011) *Eric Vandormael - bass (1997–2006)

Websites

Official site of MindgamesOfficial site of Frank Van Bogaert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mindgames Belgian progressive rock groups