Artist: Theocracy
Label: Ulterium Records
Release: 2008
Length: 68:00
Rating: 4/5
Theocracy are an American progressive power metal trio. “Mirror of Souls” is the band’s second album, following the self-titled debut from 2003, which was still Matt Smith’s solo project back then, with him playing and singing everything you hear on it himself. After the debut’s rave reception, the guy, as frontman and chief visionary, got a surge of momentum, turned the project into a band and…? It’s rare for a project to work better than a band. And this time it doesn’t either. “Mirror of Souls” is a few notches up in quality in every respect compared to the debut.
The band, despite coming from the US, sounds largely European. Is it enough if I rattle off the likes of Edguy or Gamma Ray? Don’t hold me to that, though. Both namedrops are pretty superficial in a lot of ways. Theocracy are the good guys, and you could easily slap a “white” or “Christian” tag onto their genre label, since on the album they often (not always!!!) work to keep the melodies uplifting (without the pretentiousness of the likes of Freedom Call), and the lyrics themselves hint at the spiritual side of following the light of Jesus. If they want to “conquer” the wider metal crowd in the future, they’ll have to climb completely out of the good-boy saddle and sink their teeth into a raw hunk of meat or two more!
It all kicks off in a very clichéd fashion with A Tower Of Ashes (its tempo matches that of the Finnish power metal storm troopers) and On Eagle’s Wings. Right away the band makes it clear that these are excellent musicians who know what epic and bombastic mean, which the trio pulls off in these dynamic songs especially with the vocal harmonies in the choruses and the triple-guitar melodies, in the typical European manner. In short, nothing particularly earth-shattering to start with.
Then you reach the third track, Laying the Demon to Rest, which turns things upside down in a flash. The basic opening guitar riff alone is red-hot in the production and smells of thrash, in the style of a Nevermore attack. The song has progressively broken rhythms, shifts in atmosphere and plenty of motifs, and with its high-drama mood it brings, along with the title track, the most plus points to the album as a whole. This track also shows the band’s wisdom in not overdoing the technical, school-trained flash, but instead sticking to the primal goal of keeping the big hooks and with them the album’s atmosphere. While with Betlehem and Absoluiton Day the band brings back more power metal galloping, the album later turns more dynamic again in its songwriting. The Writing In The Sand, with church organ added to the red-hot guitar riffing, and Martyr, with a melody in the middle instrumental section that conjures up a Calvary like the one the Spanish conquistadors made happen long ago, are real mini epic suites that follow Laying the Demon to Rest.
But that’s not all! The title track Mirror of Souls is a true maxi epic suite, over 22 minutes long. So Theocracy took on a feat that isn’t popular at all anymore in the world of progressive metal releases. Imagine gluing the previous seven songs together, or Gamma Ray deciding to compose a suite like that, with their own signature production, vibe and energy, of course. It’s obvious that this trio has found a great chemistry in the studio and in reading and understanding the ideas the members bring in. It’s a superb string of highly dramatic motifs, all masterfully blending bombastic atmosphere with punchy, catchy melodicism that the listener will never find too heavy to enjoy. The cherry on top, or the crown on it all, is Matt Smith’s vocal, which is a clear upgrade across the board compared to the debut. The guy has a clean, polished voice that in the higher registers comes close to Tobias Sammet (Edguy) or the singers of newer Scandinavian progressive metal bands. So it’s a key element bringing melodicism into Theocracy’s sound. Juicy stuff, this “Mirror of Souls,” isn’t it?
Like I said: you can just forget the “Theocracy” debut. “Mirror of Souls” is an excellent album that proves, as I also wrote in my review of “Immortal” (2008) by Cryonic Temple, that power metal can recycle all it wants. Of course, if it’s justified. At every moment. The record has to simply work, convincingly and truthfully; the vibe has to be able to shake you up and leave you in a entranced, numb, slightly shell-shocked state when its last second spins out. ” Mirror of Souls” has exactly that quality. Clichés that hold up. Theocracy don’t sound stale, but… Yes. Progressive, if you like. And the shorter songs especially prove that the band has the potential to evolve and build on its sound in the future. “Mirror of Souls” is a decisive step forward, though in creative terms Theocracy still haven’t reached the top step.
Lineup
Matt Smith – vocals, guitar, bass
Shawn Benson – drums
Jonathan Hinds – guitar, backing vocals
Production
Matt Smith
Track list
1. A Tower of Ashes (4:44)
2. On Eagles’ Wings (4:11)
3. Laying the Demon to Rest (9:37)
4. Bethlehem (5:51)
5. Absolution Day (6:46)
6. The Writing in the Sand (6:43)
7. Martyr (7:39)
8. Mirror of Souls (22:26)
