Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
MH: Mind’s Horizon is all about experimenting with our sound and bringing in different elements of the music that inspires us. On past recordings, we have written songs with death, black, thrash, and sludge metal influences, and we 
have also written straight ahead rock and acoustic songs with clean vocals. We tend to not place any limitations on our music and what we write, which leads to an eclectic mix that is fun and creatively satisfying for us and hopefully interesting for the listener!
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
MH: We are all from Northwest Indiana in the U.S., about a half an hour outside Chicago. I (lead guitarist Jason Schultz) was approached by multi-instrumentalist Kyle Ludovice in 2008 or 2009 and asked to jam with an earlier incarnation of what would become the band. We went through a few false starts and stops before solidifying a lineup in 2010, and we began playing as an instrumental 4 piece around that time. We released an instrumental record called “Divisions” in 2013, and shortly after added vocalist Jake Quintanilla to the band that same year. We continued playing locally, and wrote enough music to constitute a double album, 2016’s “Desolation Within” and the forthcoming “Animus Unbound”. The band went through several lineup changes and life changes that led to a few periods of inactivity from 2016 on, but we always continued working on music behind the scenes. Now in 2023, we are working on finishing our archived material and looking towards whatever the future may bring!
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
MH: The band formed from a mutual interest in progressive music, mainly progressive metal acts such as Dream Theater, Between the Buried and Me, Devin Townsend, Symphony X, among other contemporary heavy bands like Behemoth, Amon Amarth, Ihsahn, Arch Enemy and Nevermore. We also collectively draw from the well of classic progressive rock acts such as Rush, Yes, Gentle Giant, and Kansas. As young musicians in the early days of the band, we were consuming tons of music, and we all knew that the more experimental and cinematic style of longform progressive and experimental music was where we wanted to head, all while keeping the melodies and songwriting strong and the arrangements interesting. We tend to be very conceptual with our lyrical approach, and have several suites, long form epic songs, as well as standalone pieces with themes that range from the fantastic to the personal.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
MH: I really enjoy writing music in various styles as it keeps things fresh and interesting. I think that all of us in the band want to continue to improve and we all feel that our best material is ahead of us. A big bucket list item for me personally is a full-blown concept record, so we will see if that ever materializes for our band! Right now, our focus is on completing the 3rd LP and our EP “The Void” on which our new song “Wound” is featured.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
MH: Completing work on our 2nd LP “Desolation Within” was a huge moment for the band because it was such a large and all encompassing project. At the time our drummer and vocalist were teenagers, and we set an extremely high bar for ourselves with a nearly 75-minute album full of 10+ minute progressive epics. The production of the album, which was self-recorded, mixed, mastered, and released, taught us a lot about the process of making an album, pursuing the right sounds for the project, and the need to compromise while working together in a band. We couldn’t be prouder of the album as a statement of hungry youth and the boundless creativity and drive we all have at that age.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
MH: Promotion is the most difficult piece for any band these days. We feel lucky that the musical ideas are always flowing, and we have the tools to make our songs and albums our way and on our time frame. Getting the music to listeners however is a much different story and is a nut we are still trying to crack! Sites like yours help as a great resource to connect with potential fans and folks looking for something a bit different, so we really appreciate the support!
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
MH: Unfortunately, the band has been a studio project since 2018, and will remain so through 2023. We hope to eventually hit the stage again with this material, but for the time being we are focused on completing our existing songs and then we will see where we are at and what is feasible for limited live performances in the future. We miss it, so never say never!
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
MH: I use streaming services to discover bands, but after I have an opportunity to check out the music I look for resources like Bandcamp, etc. that allow more direct support to the band themselves. None of us are getting rich out 
here, especially playing the type of music that we play, and supporting bands through merch and physical media sales really goes a long way. In many cases this can make the difference between merchandise getting made or even albums getting made. It has never been more important to support your favorite bands.
One negative aspect that I personally feel has come about in the streaming age is a decrease in the prominence and importance of the album as a music form. We are all album guys in this band, and I view the album as an artistic vehicle much in the same way a film or a painting can be perceived by lovers of those art forms. I miss the willingness to engage with a longform piece of music or an album in the mainstream, but that isn’t to say that individuals that appreciate this intended experience aren’t still out there! Those kindred spirits are out there, and we are trying to find them!
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
MH: I wish that I had a hand in writing any song on Images and Words, as all those arrangements still hold up. Obviously the record is a total classic and rightfully so, but the freshness that the album still holds 30 years later is mind-blowing. Just total progressive perfection. Kyle and I also were joking the other day that we would kill to have a writing credit on any song off Toto IV. What an absolute masterclass in tasty playing and amazing songwriting.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
MH: We feel like we were born in the wrong decade sometimes. It would be amazing to be able to pursue music full time and to make a living off our art, but that isn’t really possible these days for the vast majority of bands, us included.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
MH: We just completed work on “Wound”, the 2nd of the 4 tracks that will comprise “The Void” EP. We have 2 additional songs that we will begin tracking this Spring and hope to have the completed project done by years end. In addition, we are working on completing “Animus Unbound”, the 2nd half of the double album cycle that we began in 2016 on “Desolation Within”. This project sees us working within a more rock and progressive rock framework and is very different sonically from Desolation, although the music remains adventurous and multi-faceted (if less metal focused and heavy). We released about half of that album on our streaming platforms and have 4 more songs to go before it is complete, one being a 30-minute prog epic titled “The Mind’s Horizon Pt. 2: Animus Unbound”. We also hope to have this release complete in 2023, time willing.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
MH: We are working on setting up our bandcamp and instagram channels, but for now please find us at our Facebook page and stream our music on Spotify, Youtube, and all other streaming services! Thanks for checking us out, for the support, and we hope you enjoy the music! https://www.facebook.com/mindshorizon/
Mind’s Horizon links:
Band/Artist location – Griffith, Indiana, USA
Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud –
Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer –
Check our page for Mind’s Horizon
