Another act I should have reviewed some months ago – but, hey, at least I’m getting to them at last! Dark Mirror ov Tragedy are a Korean act who’ve been around since 2003. The band’s name refers to the mirror used by Nostradamus to see the dark, cursed future. Which probably gives you an idea of their tone.
They profess to play Symphonic Black/Gothic/Death Metal and they really pull off this eclectic mix well. I’d be tempted to throw speed metal into their mix as some of the intros have that kind of harmonic pace. The whole album is atmospheric and would work well as the background music for some kind of cataclysmic action movie.
Frenetically-paced guitar and drums burst forth and lay waste to your speakers, harsh vocals spit death and despair… and then a piano breaks in and flows underneath the continuing madness. Pace changes throughout seem to follow dramatic bursts of action which the listener can almost visualise.
The Lunatic Chapters of Heavenly Creatures is a hugely ambitious album – almost up there with Blind Guardian’s stunning Beyond the Red Mirror for the sheer scale of genres and styles being used. The core style is different from that release, but there is an equally impressive mixture of sounds which rarely clash, instead complementing each other.
It’s probably not surprion listening to find out that the band are a seven-piece, including a keyboardist and violinist. Certainly they’re producing seven persons’ worth of noise!
If you are in the mood for something dark, broody, dramatic and involving then you could do far worse than giving these guys a try. Surprisingly impressive stuff.
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