Mirror – Mirror

Reflecting Our Inner Sorcerer

It’s nearly impossible to go wrong when a band consists of members from some of the best current and former metal acts out there. With Tas Danazoglou (formerly of Electric Wizard and currently of Satan’s Wrath) on bass, producer Jaime Gomez Arellano on drums, guitarist Stamos K of Satan’s Wrath, vocalist Jimmy Mavromatis and Repulsion’s Matt Olivo also on guitar, Mirror is the supergroup born of every metal fan’s wet dreams. Mirror’s capacity to modernize classic metal stylings more popular in the 80’s into a relevant representation of the era is more than showcased on their self titled release. Comprised of the highest musical prowess, Mirror is an exemplary parade of each musician’s abilities, masked by an occultish veil.

The album barrels out of the gates strong with its title track, coupling a strong riff with galloping, amplified drums. It becomes quickly obvious the power behind Mavromatis’s vocals, a strength best explained and compared to the funny thought of Geddy Lee of Rush switching genre gears over to the dark side. Each track on Mirror seems to spotlight each member’s strong suites. “Year of the Red Moon” shines best on its guitar, while “Heavy King” rides on its drums and “Galleon” presents the best of both underworlds.

Lyrically, dark magic and the mystery of the occult seem to be the album’s main theme. If anything, Mirror made that very apparent in their song titles (take “Madness and Magik,” “Cloak of a Thousand Secrets” and “Orion’s Sword” as prime examples of this). As a collective, the transparency and confidence they possess as musicians is expressive and grand. The Iron Maiden and Dio style of metal to some nowadays may appear silly, but these men clearly have no qualms or quips about doing so in 2015, which makes the album all the more wickedly enjoyable.