Quick question for you… how many heavy metal records do you need in your life? I was thinking about this the other day when my pile of vinyl and CDs needed tidying up. I have a LOT of stuff and so the thought- albeit a fleeting one- passed through my mind that perhaps I had enough. Luckily that thought quickly evaporated from my mind, due in part to the excellent new record from New York City reprobates Mirror Queen.
On this second album of heaviness, the portentously named Scaffolds of the Sky (TeePee), the American outfit treat us to another slab of infectious NWOBHM/ Prog loveliness that might not be the most original record you’ve heard all year but certainly pushes a number of buttons marked “hot”.
Mirror Queen’s take on guitar rock is both nostalgic and forward facing. The agreeable blend of twin guitar harmonies and unfettered wig outs recalls the days when the likes of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest were slugging it out for the heavy metal championship of the world but Mirror Queen imbue their art with an additional progressive flourishes: listen carefully to ‘Strangers in Our Own Time’ and you will find lashings of Dutch Prog outfit Focus as well as some cap- doffing to Deep Purple, for example.
There is a progressive sensibility to all of Scaffolds of the Sky; from the psychedelic lyrics to the slightly woozy and trippy guitar parts that are both hypnotic and ethereal. There’s a dirty and gritty riff underscoring ‘Quarantined’ which gives it a welcome roughness whilst you’d lay a not inconsiderable sum of money that ‘Vagabondage’ was recorded in 1975 rather than 2015, such is it’s authentic blend of progressive heaviness.
‘Wings Wetted Down’ has its origins firmly rooted in mid period Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath and ‘At the Borderline On the Edge of Time’ is as space-rock as you’d expect from a song that is surely taken from the well-read copy of “Song Titles that Hawkwind Haven’t Yet Used”.
And there you pretty much have it. Mirror Queen know what they like, and what they like is Prog and heavy metal. These are, of course, very good things to like. Scaffolds in the Sky won’t win any prizes for originality but it does win plenty of praise in these quarters for its unpretentious, straightforward effective rock schtick.
7.0/10
MAT DAVIES
