Get a look at that logo…or not. Hold the page/screen/phone sideways and see if you can make it out – hard to do, eh? But it’s all a part of the broad scope of visuals that make up Mirror, the band led by Tas Danazoglou, he of Satan’s Wrath fame, and formerly of Electric Wizard. The band itself wiggles itself into the now-standard 70s rock/lighter metal template, with some cross-referencing of Angel Witch and Rainbow. You’re going to take a pass at this and relate this to a lot of what’s going on at the moment, so we’ll give the band some slack in the adventure department.
Singer Jimmy Mavromatis deserves the bulk of the praise for the album’s effort. A huffy, spirited vocalist, Mavromatis appears he’d be right at home caught in the crosshairs of NWOBHM and the retro rock Mirror is so prone to. On the songs where the riffs have more lift (see: “Mirror,” “Curse of the Gypsy” and “Cloak of a Thousand Secrets”), Mavromatis really shines. He’s got a familiar, yet engaging pulse to him on the album’s opening bout, “Mirror,” while displaying some quality refrains on a song like “Heavy King,” which is perhaps the album’s standout song.
Just a heads-up that this is a long, if not long-winded album, perhaps too long than it should be. But, these guys appear to be cool with space truckin’ their way through the proper and happening channels, serving themselves up as more of a progressive answer to retro rock. And don’t look past the album’s slight theatrical bent, which again, comes from Mr. Mavromatis, who once all the press comes and goes for the album (not to mention the band clocks in with some live gigs), should be an in-demand vocalist. He’s the real show here.