DARK MIRROR – Visions Of Pain

The band from Iowa, U.S.A. was formed in January of 2005 by the bassist Mark Andersen and the guitarist Eric Wicker. The two musicians thought that it was about time to record all of the music they have been working on for quite some time. In order to do so, they had to find a fitting voice to the Old School Metal they were up to. Their search went far from the U.S.A. borders and reached Alonso Donoso in Chile. Mr. Donoso was a member of an Iron Maiden tribute band and had been looking for a new band the last six years. The addition of Anthony Austin behind the drum set gave birth to Dark Mirror. After the recording of the band’s debut demo CD and some headlining shows at the local clubs, Dark Mirror had to go silent when the drummer left. The replacement was found a year after, in the face of Tim Cummings. With renewed forces, Dark Mirror returned with their debut full-length release entitled Visions Of Pain.

Dark Mirror go against the musical trends in their homeland and have released an album that goes back to the 80s when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was making the first steps. Donoso’s higher notes bring to mind the controversial voice of Tim Baker with Cirith Ungol, or John Gallagher from the historical band Raven from the late 70s.

The album opens with the instrumental “Pandora” where the bass guitar arpeggios and the guitar leads manage to reproduce the classic NWOBHM atmosphere. This track leads to the fast-paced “Nightmares,” where the listener gets the first taste of some well-performed, high-pitched vocals. The drums sound a little bit “dry” and “shallow,” but this can be ignored since this is a self-financed release. The band brings some Epic atmosphere with the mid-tempo “No Warning,” with some influences from another American band called Liege Lord. “The Eye Of The Storm” is pretty melodic, introducing some catchy guitar riffs and a nice chorus, while in “Age Of Silence” there is a very good vocal performance with less overly high-pitched notes. In the fast and heavy song “Better Think Again” there is a very good classic composed guitar solo that really shines. Next, are the groovy almost Thrash songs “Howling” and “Invisible Game.” The album closes with “Dark Mirror” that kicks in with a Maiden-ish intro reminding of “The Ides Of The March.” The galloping guitars and the double drum pedaling create a solid headbanging rhythm section giving the track the title of the heaviest song of the album.

Visions Of Pain is a very good debut album and a wonderful time travel through the 80s decade comprising some the old-school tunes that the U.S.A. Metal scene has already forgotten them.