MIRROR – Mirror
- Posted on 16-11-2015
The brainchild of ex-Electric Wizard bassist Tas Danazoglou, filled out with guitarist Stamos K (Satan’s Wrath), guitarist Matt Olivo, drummer Jaime Gomez Arellano and vocalist Jimmy Mavromatis – Mirror on their self-titled debut pushes forth a traditional sound that champions the transition from glorious 70’s hard rock into the 80’s New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene. Certainly the band has their work cut out for them – retro hard rock and metal a hot commodity these days, so let’s dig into the 8 main tracks ("Orion’s Sword" is a 53 second instrumental) and see what we’ve got.
Strains of "Am I Evil" come out at the 3:04 mark of "Madness and Magik", the dual guitar harmonies ringing out sparse notes that segue into a more Maiden-oriented progressive shuffle – while the title track has a lot of old Mercyful Fate elements in terms of the guitar buildup and Jimmy’s tenor vocal delivery. The Hammond organ interplay with the guitars in a cat and mouse race format for "Heavy King" gives off a lot of old Deep Purple/ Rainbow vibe – Jimmy really rearing back and hitting those upper reaches of his range during the verses and chorus. Solid groove principles drive home another favorite "Cloak of a Thousand Secrets" – as Matt and Stamos give the exotic riff touches pulsating accents and proper riff to riff movement. Everything from a little doom to old school epic passages come up – respectful of their elders and sure to cause ecstasy for most 70’s and early 80’s metal heads.
Overall though, there isn’t much originality in Mirror’s approach this early in the game – a lot of reference points come up easily, and that’s not good for longevity’s sake. Ability and chops are present- let’s now see if they can gain some seasoning and chemistry to unleash a killer follow up.
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