Mirror of Deception - Shards Review

Rating: 8.9

Country: Germany

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. Haunted
2. Ghost*
3. Swamped
4. The Eruption
5. Insomnia
6. The Dead Pledge
7. The Capital New
8. Pyre
9. Frozen Fortune*
10. Enigma

Band Website: Mirror of Deception

Mirror of Deception - Shards

Michael Siffermann- Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Jochen Fopp- Rhythm/Lead Guitar
Andreas Taller- Bass/Guitars on *
Jochen Muller- Drums/Vocals

Swabian doom-mongers Mirror Of Deception have always been a challenging band- doggedly individual to the last, the band have, from the beginning of their nascent career, forged a sound that stands confidently distanced from any like-minded progenitors of “epic doom”. Their insistently original sound, peppered as it is with sentimental, even “romantic” melodies and excruciatingly emotional overtones, has won plaudits from quarters as disparate as Miskatonic Foundation (who put out their great Mirrorsoil record) and mainstream European rags, though this critical acclaim has not entirely translated into commercial success. A longstanding outfit that has withstood the tempestuous fortunes of doom metal and now bears witness to traditional doom's public renaissance, Mirror Of Deception have fired their latest salvo of emotionally-charged, heartrendingly morose doom at the heart of fashion and foppery, further consolidating a sound that they have ploughed and perfected from their genesis, indifferent to the rising fortunes secured by less imaginative bands. Bless them for it, for while this album requires effort to fully appreciate, it affirms what every Mirror Of Deception has attested to date- that this is a very special band deserving of your dollar.

As with the prior two full-lengths, the most tangible musical parallel one could draw in this instance is 2nd and 3rd LP Count Raven (most evident on the second track, “Ghost”), the band utilizing a similarly heavy-handed, ponderous, simply-expressed but extraordinarily effective style to articulate their themes of forlornness and solitude. Yet, such a superficial description would do supreme injustice to these German stalwarts- the fundamental base of Count Raven and Candlemass is embellished with shimmering gossamer threads of guitar, tasteful and subtle leads that wail dolefully atop painfully somber, bottom-heavy drifts of guitar and leaden, elephantine percussion. You won't find extravagant instrumental flourishes or virtuouso musicianship on a Mirror Of Deception record, though you WILL find an acute sensitivity to subtlety, light and shade, channeled into a panoramic, enveloping and singularly sincere approach to doom that, if given the time to impress itself on your consciousness, will leave an indelible imprint on your being. Mirror Of Deception's focal strength lies in the honesty and intimacy the band affords to the listener, something that, in some senses, reminds me of Revelation's Frozen Masque period. Accomplishing, with effortless ease, what the Peaceville Trio have been trying to take ill-advised stabs at for the entirety of their collective careers, the music of Mirror Of Deception strikes chords in your soul, their disarmingly personal lyrical preoccupations resonating with your own crippling anxieties and existential crises.

Yes, this is definitively DOOM- languorous, monolithic, dolorous chords and melancholy vocals, supplemented with lyrics that grapple desperately with all the ambiguity and finitude of human experience. It does help that the songs are rich and memorable as well- “Haunted” opens with despotic, dense, almost martial chords, before receding into a spacious, lead-accented hook passage that swells into a billowing, forceful midsection peppered with elegantly-stated solo. I'm also not certain if it's just a consequence of better vocal production this time around, but the dual vocals sound more confidently executed on this go-around, and it would appear that this crucial component of the MOD sound has been buttressed and refined on this outing. “The Eruption” reflects a band unafraid of reaping, with unabashed abandon, the fruit of well-utilized melody, juxtaposing extremely tuneful vocal melodies with bruising, leviathan riffing, while “Pyre” exhibits a loose percussive swing that is almost Cathedral-esque in execution, the band eschewing some of the grave firmness of the other fare in lieu of a more upbeat affair (though, in truth, such fancies are laid to waste when the song sinks into more gloom n'despondency, where MOD provide incontrovertible arguments for the use of FINGERSTYLE bass in doom metal). True, the quality here may not be quite as uniformly majestic as, say, Foregone , and as always Mirror Of Deception remain a band that you must necessarily digest with the accompaniment of suitable environs (not to mention mood), but while the progression between the last record and this one is rather scant in the way of innovation, but for the most part this record is more consummately-executed and fully realized than anything they've done- the production is the richest and fullest the band has had yet, and one truly gets the sense that the band becomes more and more comfortable in their unique sonic niche with each subsequent release.

Each and every Mirror Of Deception record is an odyssey, and as such each one requires an investment on your part, as far as patience and endurance goes. I must concede that no Mirror Of Deception record has seized me from the get-go, but with repeated, concerted listens, they have truly secured a berth on my altar of Doom as a band with near peerless vision and unmitigated conviction. If music were judged on honesty alone Mirror Of Deception would occupy the foremost echelon of modern musical achievement, and while they aren't necessarily one of my very favorite bands, the fact that I, as a jaded bastard, am unspeakably excited every time they have a new record waiting in the wings, speaks volumes about how excellent this band is. Look into this one.

December 3rd, 2006