The Sham Mirrors Reviews
Review by John Chedsey / Satan Stole My Teddy Bear
The beautiful thing about the Norwegian metal scene is that the incestuous nature of the involved bands does allow for hypothetical "what-ifs" to be answered in all good time. Certainly there are many of you out there who spend many nights wondering what Borknagar would currently sound like had Garm remained the band's vocalist. The good news is that this ponderous query has been answered on the new Arcturus release, The Sham Mirrors. This record may act as a ray of hope for those disappointed in Borknagar's latest release, Empiricism. However, for those Arcturus fans who enjoyed the maniacal carnival-of-horror atmosphere on their 1997 release, La Masquerade Infernale, The Sham Mirrors is a bit conservative, dry and safe.
In the five years since Arcturus' unleashed their minor classic La Masquerade Infernale, we have seen Garm steadfastly and possibly deliberately alienate the ultra-conservative black metal audience with the direction of the remix album Disguised Masters (also brilliant in its own right) and with the completely new direction of his main project Ulver. The Sham Mirrors finds Garm hasn't completely abandoned metal music and harkens to the symphonic luster of Borknagar's area of expertise. Keyboardist Steinar Sverd Johnsen has also returned from a few years of a very low profile to add his considerable talent to the record. If nothing else, Sverd's abilities are one of the most impressive aspects of The Sham Mirrors. The second most notable achievement is Garm's ever-improving ability to sing convincing melodies without falling into offkey, pseudo-dramatic blubberings. In fact, in the years since La Masquerade Infernale, Garm (or Trickster G. Rex, as he is credited here) has found his range and can deliver with remarkably precise passion.
The Sham Mirrors is the type of album that takes some time to assimilate. While the songwriting is fairly conservative (by Arcturus standards, at least), the music is well constructed and obviously very well thought out in advance. As a result, multiple listens will evoke new layers within the songs and grow on you like that old mutt you adopted from the shelter. Although I somewhat wish the band had chosen to completely go into leftfield with this release, the fact that the album is so well conceived and executed makes me overlook my personal hopes. The Sham Mirrors is simply a strong record that only solidifies Arcturus' reputation.