Members of the Swedish metal band Mirador have come and gone since the group was founded by Jakob Forsberg, Erik Mjörnell and Kalle Santana in 1991. Two of the original members, the cousins Jakob and Erik, still form the spine of this group. Naturally, back in the early days, no one knew what this project would turn out to be. Erik, ten years old at the time and by far the youngest member, was quite inspired by the metal band Stryper, and so it came to be that the first song the band started rehearsing was Stryper’s 'More Than A Man'. Mirador recruited members from a circle of close friends, and eventually played a few locally renowned gigs. Their musical style turned quite a bit heavier than that of the original Stryper tunes, mostly due to heavy influences like Metallica, late 80’s Black Sabbath and Guns N' Roses. Needless to say, Mirador's own music written by Jakob, initially sucked. But young and extremely talented lead guitarist Erik helped the band to perform with charm. Some two or three years later, Mirador would undergo some major changes as Veni Domine released their debut album, 'Fall Babylon Fall', a masterpiece yet to be matched by any band in the genre. Never having heard this style of music before, the Veni Domine album became a revelation to all of the members of Mirador. Deeply moved and enlightened by this discovery, they searched the vaults and found invaluable treasures in similar styles, such as Candlemass and most of all Memento Mori. This made Mirador take on a new pure doom metal music costume. At this point, the band was reinforced with Isak, a divinely gifted singer with a characteristic high-pitched voice. Jakob gladly handed the mic over and focused on writing music and playing the rhythm guitar. Mirador's first studio recorded demo made the cut and they closed a deal with a small Swedish record company. Realizing that the forthcoming recording was going to be important, the members chose to put the band under scrutiny. They found a weak link and so it was that the hard-hitting drummer Lars Palmqvist joined them. Unfortunately, the record company went bankrupt before Mirador could enter the studio, and the record was cancelled. In 1997, Isak at last found himself being more interested in the singer/songwriter genre, and he quit the band. The remnants of Mirador went scattered and divided when the members, for different reasons, moved all over the country and rehearsals became rare. Six years later, in the fall of 2003, Jakob and Erik met in Stockholm and started to write new songs. Christian Rivel, the turbo charged Narnia lead singer, picked up interest in their material and signed Mirador under his own label. The cousins mingled old influences with new, and now not only metal, which makes their debut album 'The Azrael Tales' an interesting and unpredictable experience. Teamed up with new drummer Olof Gardestrand, they have created a record with a doomy flavor in some places, and classic Sabbath style riff showdowns in others. These ingredients blended with strong choruses, Oriental and Swedish folklore twists, guarantee the listener to be in for a pleasant sonic journey.
 

THE AZRAEL TALES (2005) RIVEL

All great albums have to grow on you. Some you might not get on the first few listens, but then really get under you your skin after a while, and then it grabs you, and won't let you go. This was the case for me with Mirador's debut album. I wasn't sure I even liked what I heard from these Swedes at first, but now I can't get enough of them! 'The Azrael Tales' opens with the awesome "Redeemer", a song that "steals" from such diverse acts as Marilyn Manson and Kingdom Come (none intended though, I'm sure). Still what comes out is 100% original. Next up is "Phoenix Syndrome", and you see where this is going. Mirador play progressive metal, and they do it in a fashion that doesn't let you categorize them any further. The music is complex, yet with enough going on that you will remember after listening to the songs (try to get the chorus for "Perfect Plan" out of your head after 2 spins!). Jakob delivers his soft, high pitched vocals, which suits the heavy, yet never aggressive, music. Veni Domine is of course a name to toss out, as the similarities are there indeed. Just check out "No Loss Cut"! But Mirador is not a copy cat band. I guess you have to take my word for it, and check them out yourself.

Killer tracks: Redeemer, Phoenix Syndrome, Post Believers, Perfect Plan, Thief, Metropolis Metamorphosis