Mirror - Harvest

Spain’s solo act Mirror has been around for a long time and has been quite prolific over the years ever since 1998. Rooting itself in the core of the bitter sound of Doom Death with Gothic touches but not as overt as other bands like My Dying Bride out there, one can hear touches of the more Sludge/ Stoner Doom amongst the Death Doom on the latest EP from the band, “Harvest.” Raw, but not as catchy as the previous release of Metallica covers on their EP, those who felt the latest Funeral album was too cheesily morose will be happy to sucked into the bowels of darkness by Guadaña Afilada who does pretty much everything this album. While “Harvest” doesn’t quite showcase all the sides of Mirror’s full scope as they have delved into Folk and more Gothic tones in the past, this EP shows some of the rawer, if not more almost primitive side of what the band offers. It is very short and a bit late 80s sounding, but those who just like lots of guitars and vocals with plodding drums without the modern touches of female vocals, keyboards, or violins to add the whole funeral aspect of the music will feel right at home with the somewhat claustrophobic sound Mirror has.

Guadaña Afilada primary draw with his work among all his other projects like Anthropocidal’s Black Metal or God Dog’s Death Metal is his guitar work. While Mirror here is not presented in technical flamoyancy, he shows both the raw, chugging side such on ‘Planet Death’ and some of the more melodic harmonies on ‘Funeralism.’ Mostly though, the album is comprised of reverb soaked drenched Stoner Doom riffs that hold back the groove among somewhat buried vocals. The vocals are probably the hardest part to get into as they sound a bit tired and raw, but it does match the grim overall ‘old school Doom Metal’ touch of the music. For those who enjoyed Paradise Lost’s extremely early days, ‘Stygian’ is full of somewhat repetitive, but morose riffs and pounding drums among the guttural Funeral Doom styled vocals. It is the solos though that really help the album perk up, as Afilada really breaks from the prison of depression and injects some more life into the music. Unfortunately, there aren’t really enough of those moments to enjoy on the EP as a whole. While the appreciation to back to the sound of the ‘beginning’ is always a nostalgic trip for Mirror, this “Harvest” EP for newcomers especially does a disservice to not showcase the band’s full scope of sound to really show how varied of a musician he is (that honor goes to “Path In The Dark” which is still a gloomy release but brings in more of the Gothic and Folk elements along with Death and Doom). Still, those who like their Doom Metal raw and fuzzy without the more commercial tropes will enjoy reverb soaked riff after riff amongst the growls as Mirror lurches forth their seventh EP with steadfast determination and despite a slow pace, show now signs of slowing their career anytime soon.

2.5 / 5 STARS