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Released on April 21, 2015 via Tee Pee Records
Out of the ashes of long running New York City band Kreisor emerged Mirror Queen. Under the Kreisor moniker, the band put two US tours and four European expeditions behind them, including tinnitus-inducing sojourns supporting UFO and Uli Jon Roth all over the continent. A successful European tour in 2011 won them fans from Berlin to Torino and many points between. This was followed by their inclusion in the 2012 edition of Brainbanger’s Ball followed by a tour of duty with The Atomic Bitchwax and Earthless.
Now, Mirror Queen are back and they release their ominously titled long-player, Scaffolds of the Sky, on 21 April 2015 via Tee Pee Records. Incidentally this is the same day Tee Pee is releasing the new The Atomic Bitchwax record too, so the band are in good company. Original members Kenny Kreisor (guitars, vocals) and Jeremy O’Brien (drums) have been joined by James Corallo (Zandelle) on bass and Phil Ortanez (La Ostracina/Polygmamyst) on second guitar.
Scaffolds of the Sky is a follow-up to From Earth Below, which was released back in 2011 and their new album was recorded at Momek Studios in Brooklyn, and mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering (Roky Erickson, Big Star). They play an interesting blend of NWOBHM and psychedelic prog rock with a few stoner influences sprinkled in for good measure. I’m happy to report that on the whole this works really well. We have the obligatory twin-guitar battles and at times the signature early Iron Maiden galloping metallic riffs are introduced. Most of the tracks have enough ideas and riffs interwoven into their structures to keep the listener entertained throughout. There are hooks-a-plenty and the added bonus of a few prog rock elements means that at times we get fairly complex finger twiddling instrumental sections too which provides a nice juxtaposition to the more traditional classic metal passages.
So in summary, Scaffolds of the Sky is a contemporary collection of tight well played tunes that manage to carry the listener across many musical landscapes. Mirror Queen have tried something slightly different with Scaffolds of the Sky and it all gels together to create a really top-notch album with fantastic artwork too!
