Happy 30th birthday to ‘Into the Mirror Black’, this great record that’s reaching this milestone along with epics such as ‘Never, Neverland’, ‘Rust in Peace’, ‘Empire’, ‘Seasons in the Abyss’, ‘Painkiller’, ‘Cowboys from Hell’ and more.
Besides the welcomed remaster, done by producer/engineer Zeuss, who worked on ‘The Year the Syn Died’, as well as with Iced Earth recently, the bonus material on here includes three demos, among which is ‘I Am Insane’ (also featured on ‘Inception’ three years ago) and a live recording (the ‘Black Reflections’ EP material) with songs from both ‘Into the Mirror Black’ and ‘Refuge Denied’: ‘Battle Angels’ with Warrel Dane on top form; it doesn’t get any better than that.
Re-listening to the album’s 9 songs – the definition of no filler, impossible to tell which ‘side’ is better – other than being reminded of its uniqueness, I think it is only logical to think about Wally, gone too soon, not only with sadness but also with curiosity. How would he perceive, what kind of inspiration would he draw from this unprecedented situation we’re in, as one of the greatest heavy metal lyricists ever? Back then the 90s were just beginning, now here we are, in the… 20s, and the world, more than ever before, is ‘verging on the edge of an age.’
