Space Mirrors is a conglomerate of international musicians fronted by keyboardist Alisa Coral ( Russia ) and guitarist Michael Blackman ( Australia ), with special appearances by like-minded space/metal artists from around the globe.
Guest artists include Metatron (The Meads Of Asphodel) vocals, Amber (Shadows Realm) vocals, Martin Litmus on bass, and Keith Knoveton (Starfield, ex-Hawkwind) Minimoog solo & effects. The vocals are basically narrative and used more for effect and storytelling than actually singing. You’ll find little in the way of melody here.
The music is firmly in the Hawkwind/High Tide school of hard driving psychedelic progressive space rock with heavy metal and aggressive industrial leanings – and just a hint of “You” period Gong courtesy of the female vocals.
“Memories Of The Future” is a dark collection of tunes inspired by the works of Frank Herbert with an oppressive apocalyptic tone, driving beat, shredding guitars, and otherworldly synth washes that bombard the senses.
Space Mirrors build a concrete wall of impenetrable sound – then add so many additional layers that you eventually get swept up and occasionally lost in the mix. The band throws everything at you … including the kitchen sink … which sometimes tends to muddy up the mix. At times the music was so cluttered it sounded as though two or three totally unrelated songs were playing simultaneously while off in the distance someone was delivering an impassioned speech over a megaphone.
When the band is at their blazing best they are awesome and comparable to the giants in the field such as Hawkwind, Ayreon and Ozric Tentacles – it’s just those occasional moments when they toss in just a tad more than required that had me off-balance ... which is not to say that was their intent. And if that was case they succeeded.
Immediately after listening to this album I was so hyped up I needed to decompress, so I slipped on Alisa Coral’s superb solo project “Neutron Star” which immediately brought my body back into re-alignment.
“Memories Of The Future” should appeal to psychedelic space/rock, heavy metal, Progressive rock, and industrial ‘in your face’ fans with an affinity for the high energy music of groups like Hawkwind, Ayreon, Alien Planetscapes, Scattered Planets, Ship Of Fools, Ozric Tentacles, Quarkspace, Pressurehead, Sigh, and The Gathering.
Recommended for intergalactic voyagers everywhere.
Reviewed by Joseph Shingler on June 12th, 2007
