Mirror are a great Cypriot band that manages not to sound retro, but 100% recapture and recreate what it is to be a heavy metal band. After some necessary personnel shuffles (mainly due to the former members living in 3 different continents) a reforged Mirror unleashes their second effort upon the world. “Pyramid of Terror” is already a strong contestant to be album of the year or at least in one of the top spots and we caught up with vocalist Jimmy Mavromatis to get some more info about what’s being going on in the bands ranks. Read On.
Hi Jimmy… congratulations on your great sophomore effort. “Pyramid of Terror” has been chosen as the Best Album of the Month on Grande Rock!
J: Thank you very much!
Firstly the band went through some line-up changes. What prompted those and was locality a main factor in your decision about new members?
J: Yes, we had to make those changes in the lineup due to locality, for the sake of gigs and rehearsals! As the rest of the members from the original lineup, except for me and Taz lived abroad we had to do it eventually! The local Metal scene here in Cyprus is rich of experienced and talented musicians, so it wasn’t hard to find new members for the band!
Also you switched record companies from Metal Blade to Bad Omen. Why?
J: Yes, we switched from Metal Blade to Bad Omen as Will Palmer the owner of Bad Omen is a friend of Taz from Taz’s days in Electric Wizard and also happened to work for Metal Blade so we did it. He also offered a better deal, so the switch was not such a big step to take.
What are your expectations from “Pyramid of Terror”?
J: We are quite optimistic about the second album! All seems to be going well for the time being, with great reviews coming in. Actually, we expect a bit more to happen in the way of promotion and gigs, because now we can work “together” as a band and actually tour, upon short notice, something that wasn’t possible previously.
How did you come up with the title? Is it a collection of horror themed songs? Is there a concept?
J: “Pyramid of Terror” is quite different from our first album, but we tried to keep the same spirit as much as we could! The monster on the cover symbolizes the multinational multi-million corporations that suck the blood of the lower working class and try to establish the new world order, which we call “The Pyramid of Terror”. (i.n.: Oh hai, comrades!)
And how did you come up with the rather gruesome cover for the album? Is it an original creation or something you saw, liked and licensed?
J: The artwork of the cover is by Filip Leu , a famous Swiss tattoo artist based on a Taz idea had.
Since we’re on that subject, can you give us a few clues about each song? Have there been literaturary sources, or just random fantastic stories you came up with?
J: Some songs are inspired by literature for example “Masters of the Deep” is based on a HP Lovecraft story. “Nictoris” is about the female Pharaoh by that name and we already established what “Pyramid is about”. Others are just products of a fruitful imagination.
How do you feel that the two albums differ and what remains the same?
J: The new album is a bit heavier than our first one we think. But both albums share many similarities also, ie. the vocals, the overall tone...
Come to think of it, how did you come up with the name Mirror?
J: The name Mirror came from “Mirror of Nitocris” by Brian Lumley originally published along with “The caller of the black” in 1972.
Growing up who were your heroes? And what about influences, there’s a lot of 70s and early 80s references in your sound.
J: Too many heroes to mention here, but I will tell you the most important influences. Scorpions, Rainbow, Dio, UFO, Uriah Heep, Angel Witch, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and many many more.
You’re a relatively new band, with people that have been performing for a while in the scene, so you’ve seen things come and go. Do you think it’s harder post millennially (after napster etc.) to survive in the music business?
J: Oh yes its rough out there, a continuous war and it’s hard to survive the music industry but, what the hell we will prevail as we survived despite the difficulties, in the past.
What’s your opinion about the internet & piracy?
J: Well, internet piracy more or less is unavoidable. I mean, I also used Napster in the past (lol – Lars please don’t sue!), but it seems that after the lawsuits and the big fines (Napster, Megaupload) downloading has been steadily on the decline for the past few years. Also companies are embracing the convenience of the digital marketplace, for the safer and faster services that it can provide! Spotify for example that provides convenient access to music etc. and have a notable effect on illegal downloading. But the problem there is it charges a fair bit, but doesn’t quite reimburse the artists adequately. The method to distribute is there, but it’s still not “right”.
You hardly toured for the eponymous album. Any plans to change that, this release cycle?
J: Yes, the first album was not promoted properly as the members of Mirror were living far apart and it was technically impossible to go on a tour. We had a few great gigs in Cyprus with the new members and we had a good response. We hope this new situation will aid us in starting to establish Mirror as a hard rocking, hard touring band.
GR: Could we expect a performance in Greece anytime soon?
J: Yes Greece definitely is in our plans for gigs we would love to play there !
It’s time for our “weird questions”!!! If you could live in the past or the future, which would you choose and why?
J: I would choose to live in the past, of course, knowing what happens at present, so I could make drastic changes on some things! But the future also looks intriguing and I would want to know what happens in 200 years from now!
If you could have a dead musician guesting on your album, who would you pick?
J: It would definitely had to be Dio.
Which one of the seven deadly sins describes you best?
J: Well the 7 deadly sins is within the Christian teachings but I would choose probably Lust, lol!
If you were God for a week, what would you do?!
J: God for a week, hmm plenty of time to change things in the world we live in. Plenty of food for everyone, no poverty, no diseases, no wars and especially great taste of music! No crappy music! Listen to some Mirror, godamn it!
If your wife/gf sold all your albums (or equipment for those who don’t collect albums) how would you react?
J: I wouldn’t ever be with someone that doesn’t respect my work, my interests and my music collection!
Salute Greek n international fans & Grande Rock readers. Thx for talking to Grande Rock!
J: Thank you brothers and sisters all over the world. Thank you Grande Rock!
J: Thank you very much!
Firstly the band went through some line-up changes. What prompted those and was locality a main factor in your decision about new members?
J: Yes, we had to make those changes in the lineup due to locality, for the sake of gigs and rehearsals! As the rest of the members from the original lineup, except for me and Taz lived abroad we had to do it eventually! The local Metal scene here in Cyprus is rich of experienced and talented musicians, so it wasn’t hard to find new members for the band!
Also you switched record companies from Metal Blade to Bad Omen. Why?
J: Yes, we switched from Metal Blade to Bad Omen as Will Palmer the owner of Bad Omen is a friend of Taz from Taz’s days in Electric Wizard and also happened to work for Metal Blade so we did it. He also offered a better deal, so the switch was not such a big step to take.
What are your expectations from “Pyramid of Terror”?
J: We are quite optimistic about the second album! All seems to be going well for the time being, with great reviews coming in. Actually, we expect a bit more to happen in the way of promotion and gigs, because now we can work “together” as a band and actually tour, upon short notice, something that wasn’t possible previously.
How did you come up with the title? Is it a collection of horror themed songs? Is there a concept?
J: “Pyramid of Terror” is quite different from our first album, but we tried to keep the same spirit as much as we could! The monster on the cover symbolizes the multinational multi-million corporations that suck the blood of the lower working class and try to establish the new world order, which we call “The Pyramid of Terror”. (i.n.: Oh hai, comrades!)
And how did you come up with the rather gruesome cover for the album? Is it an original creation or something you saw, liked and licensed?
J: The artwork of the cover is by Filip Leu , a famous Swiss tattoo artist based on a Taz idea had.
Since we’re on that subject, can you give us a few clues about each song? Have there been literaturary sources, or just random fantastic stories you came up with?
J: Some songs are inspired by literature for example “Masters of the Deep” is based on a HP Lovecraft story. “Nictoris” is about the female Pharaoh by that name and we already established what “Pyramid is about”. Others are just products of a fruitful imagination.
How do you feel that the two albums differ and what remains the same?
J: The new album is a bit heavier than our first one we think. But both albums share many similarities also, ie. the vocals, the overall tone...
Come to think of it, how did you come up with the name Mirror?
J: The name Mirror came from “Mirror of Nitocris” by Brian Lumley originally published along with “The caller of the black” in 1972.
Growing up who were your heroes? And what about influences, there’s a lot of 70s and early 80s references in your sound.
J: Too many heroes to mention here, but I will tell you the most important influences. Scorpions, Rainbow, Dio, UFO, Uriah Heep, Angel Witch, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and many many more.
You’re a relatively new band, with people that have been performing for a while in the scene, so you’ve seen things come and go. Do you think it’s harder post millennially (after napster etc.) to survive in the music business?
J: Oh yes its rough out there, a continuous war and it’s hard to survive the music industry but, what the hell we will prevail as we survived despite the difficulties, in the past.
What’s your opinion about the internet & piracy?
J: Well, internet piracy more or less is unavoidable. I mean, I also used Napster in the past (lol – Lars please don’t sue!), but it seems that after the lawsuits and the big fines (Napster, Megaupload) downloading has been steadily on the decline for the past few years. Also companies are embracing the convenience of the digital marketplace, for the safer and faster services that it can provide! Spotify for example that provides convenient access to music etc. and have a notable effect on illegal downloading. But the problem there is it charges a fair bit, but doesn’t quite reimburse the artists adequately. The method to distribute is there, but it’s still not “right”.
You hardly toured for the eponymous album. Any plans to change that, this release cycle?
J: Yes, the first album was not promoted properly as the members of Mirror were living far apart and it was technically impossible to go on a tour. We had a few great gigs in Cyprus with the new members and we had a good response. We hope this new situation will aid us in starting to establish Mirror as a hard rocking, hard touring band.
GR: Could we expect a performance in Greece anytime soon?
J: Yes Greece definitely is in our plans for gigs we would love to play there !
It’s time for our “weird questions”!!! If you could live in the past or the future, which would you choose and why?
J: I would choose to live in the past, of course, knowing what happens at present, so I could make drastic changes on some things! But the future also looks intriguing and I would want to know what happens in 200 years from now!
If you could have a dead musician guesting on your album, who would you pick?
J: It would definitely had to be Dio.
Which one of the seven deadly sins describes you best?
J: Well the 7 deadly sins is within the Christian teachings but I would choose probably Lust, lol!
If you were God for a week, what would you do?!
J: God for a week, hmm plenty of time to change things in the world we live in. Plenty of food for everyone, no poverty, no diseases, no wars and especially great taste of music! No crappy music! Listen to some Mirror, godamn it!
If your wife/gf sold all your albums (or equipment for those who don’t collect albums) how would you react?
J: I wouldn’t ever be with someone that doesn’t respect my work, my interests and my music collection!
Salute Greek n international fans & Grande Rock readers. Thx for talking to Grande Rock!
J: Thank you brothers and sisters all over the world. Thank you Grande Rock!