Album Review: Soulmirror - I Am

Masked New England group Soulmirror presents an impressive debut album, I Am, which captures the classical brilliance of symphonic metal along with the technical and intense skill of death metal.

Sometimes within the metal genre, an album will completely enrapture the mind, body, and soul. Within death metal, regardless of what anyone says, it's a hard job to make something that aggressive in its tone digestible to others outside of the sub-genre. There are many moving parts to create something that transcends its agitated universe, aiming to create something that blends both gravid and melodic worlds in perfect harmony. For the masked New England outfit, Soulmirror, taking such contentious environments and blending a distinct array of melodic concepts to make an engaging experience for all metal fans has been the goal of the band since its inception.

In their inaugural release, I Am, Soulmirror takes death metal, symphonic black metal, and progressive elements and makes an album that not only is an engaging listen but proves that death metal is not just for hardcore metal elitists. Sometimes within the expansive metal genre, just one album can emerge within the movement of countless others to shape and change the perception of what metal is supposed to sound like. Within the realm of death metal, it can be a formidable challenge to create music that is both aggressive and accessible to those outside of this niche sub-genre. The complexity and intensity inherent in death metal often present barriers that can alienate potential fans. Therefore, it takes a unique combination of artistry and creativity to transcend these boundaries and produce music that harmoniously blends heavy intensity with melodic sensibilities.

Soulmirror has embraced this challenge, striving to merge contentious musical landscapes with a distinctive array of melodic concepts. Their goal has always been to craft an engaging experience that resonates not just with die-hard metal aficionados but with a broader audience of metal fans. With their inaugural release, I Am, Soulmirror expertly weaves elements of death metal, symphonic black metal, progressive, trash, and core influences.

This album stands out as a focal point for the versatility and depth of death metal, demonstrating that the genre is not solely reserved for hardcore elitists. Instead, it opens the door to new interpretations and emotional landscapes, proving that death metal can be both brutal and beautiful, challenging and accessible. Through intricate compositions and thoughtful arrangements, Soulmirror invites listeners not only on a captivating journey that showcases the expansive potential of metal music but has expanded it thematically to mean so much more.

---

From the beginning, "I Am," "Burden," and "The Root, The Rot," Soulmirror can seamlessly and unpredictably transition between heavy and melodic elements, making each well-crafted experience intensely emotional and sonically interesting. Filled with deeply atmospheric orchestral touches that circle powerfully around antithetic guitar riffs and percussive energies, Soulmirror drags us into the precipice of gritty darkness and melodic cadence, opening up its tenebrous world for more delicious caliginous moments that follow.

"So Far Gone," "Pleasure and Pain," and the highlighted moment, "What You Hate," continue to kick listeners in the teeth with their brutal nature, decadent use of ethereal concepts, and instrumental technical brilliance, beautifully swaying from murky to fervid intensity. Something Soulmirror does well is subtlely exchanging its elements; by the time you are done with one experience, you hardly realize that the band has used up to five different genres, sometimes more, in one setting, and this genre-bending continues to develop throughout the rest of the record.

Soulmirror picks up its use of thrash, grindcore, and doom elements in "The Stranger," "Sinking In," and "Misery's Company." A violent moshpit of melodically broad yet explosive, heart-palpitating guitar and drums, the band continues to bare their creative fangs, showcasing a band that can appease both the slam-dancing elitists of the genre while also giving listeners that want a bit more in their musical arsenal some satisfaction in their listening experience as well.

---

Final impressive moments, "Staggering Forward," "Bathed in Sin," and "The Storm," turn its organized philarmonic chaos up a notch, showing no signs of letting up on its weighty yet symphoniously audacious energy. Bringing some of the very best of their creative endeavors to the table in these moments, Soulmirror's tsunami wave of influences makes audible landfall, enveloping the listener's ears with a wave of gorgeous cinematic and instrumental concepts against its heavy, parous soundscapes, ending the record with a satisfying bang.

It's not often one comes across bands like this that make such a huge impression. The talent and creative muse are definitely there, showing a band that not only has a classically trained way of thinking but brings those basics to a vastly large and combative world of sounds and makes them sound effortless. For these reasons, these newcomers deserve one's time. If they keep creating albums like this, the sky's the limit for what this mint band can achieve.