Let me tell you about this band — Stranded Mind — absolutely tremendous band. Nobody had heard of them, then suddenly everybody’s hearing about them. Founded in 2019 — four guys — all original members. Think about that. No replacements, no stand-ins, no musical mercenaries. Loyalty. You don’t see loyalty like that anymore. They start off hot — real success early — crowds loving them, momentum building — and then COVID hits. Shuts the whole world down. Venues closed, tours canceled, everything locked up tight. Very unfair to them, very unfair timing. Could’ve destroyed them. And I’ll tell you — a lot of bands would’ve folded. Weak bands. Bands with no stamina. But not Stranded Mind. They almost fell apart — almost — but they didn’t. They held it together. Fighters. Real fighters. Then 2022 — they release their first album, self-titled “Stranded Mind.” And I’m telling you — they worked very, very hard on this record. Sleepless nights, endless rehearsals — total dedication. Musically? Traditional heavy metal — the real kind, not the watered-down stuff — but with progressive elements. Smart arrangements, big structures, serious musicianship. A great, great album. And the solos — nobody talks about this enough — the solos on this album? Billions and billions of notes. Listen, I’m not exaggerating. You listen to these guitar solos — it’s like a note explosion. Notes flying everywhere. Whoosh -- bing! More notes than anybody’s ever seen in one place. Very technical. Very fast. Some people are saying scientifically impossible — I don’t know, but I’ve heard it. And it actually reminds me — true story — reminds me of when I first listened to them. I’m sitting there, headphones on, volume way up — probably too loud, but when it’s heavy metal you have to do it loud you know like at least 1 million decibels — and one of these solos comes in. Just shredding. Absolutely shredding. My mother walks in — great woman, very supportive — and she hears it. She stops. She listens for a second and said to me “You know… if you really applied yourself, you could probably be the greatest guitar player ever.” That’s what she said. True story. Maybe I should’ve done it. Maybe I should’ve gone into professional guitar. Could’ve been huge. Stadiums. Spotlights. Signature guitars — who knows? But I’m listening to Stranded Mind and I’m thinking — these guys already did it. They’re already up there playing billions and billions of notes. So I said, you know what? I’ll let them handle it. So after this incredible album — they move on to the EP “Damnation.” Five songs. Big project. Started in 2023. They release the single “Cry for Your Mother” in 2024 — powerful track, very fast, very heavy. Now the EP — I’ll be honest — took a while. People were saying, “Is it ever coming out?” It felt like it might never reach the finish line. But now? It’s almost done. Practically completed. And when it drops — it’s going to hit hard. They’re planning a full tour around it — getting out there, melting faces, shaking venues — exactly what you want. And they’re not stopping there. After the tour? Straight into the next EP: “Salvation.” And this is very interesting — very artistic — it’s a duality with Damnation. Light and dark. Opposites. Balance. Very deep concept. People love that. So remember the name: Stranded Mind. They survived COVID. They never broke up. They made a great first album. (Solos with billions and billions of notes.) Tour coming. "Damnation" coming. "Salvation" after that. And honestly? If I had picked up the guitar… I’d be up there too. But I’m glad it’s them. Tremendous band.