Artist Profile
Mirrorthrone
Country of origin: Switzerland
Genres: Symphonic black metal, avant-garde metal, extreme metal
Years active: 2000-current
Current members: Vladimir Cochet (all instruments and vocals)
Number of albums: 3
Number of concerts attended: 0
This is a new project I’m working on. I will often be doing pieces on entire bands or musical artists, highlighting their careers and sharing some of my favorite songs. I will also talk about the growth and development of their sound as time goes on.
This week is Mirrorthrone, which, I should add, is my all-time favorite band. The word “band” is used loosely as it entirely composed by one man, Vladimir Cochet, and not much is known about him. I first discovered Mirrorthrone in 2005 when he added me as a friend on MySpace. Mirrorthrone is known for having incredibly fast drumming, occasionally singing songs in French, a strong influence of classical music, and is most recognized from being featured in the video game, Brutal Legend.
As little is known about its creator, just as little is known about the history of the project and how it came to be. Professor Wikipedia notes that a couple demos were received by Red Stream, Inc. and Mirrorthrone was permitted to release music on that label.
In 2003, the album “Of Wind and Weeping” was released. The production quality of the album is extremely poor but the musicianship is incredible. The song I’m featuring below, “Florilege Lunatique Occultement Revelateur et Neantisation Cauduque” is my favorite from this album and features a racing set of strings and piano as the drums are performed at a blistering speed. This album also features someone named “Marthe” as the female vocals on a couple songs. She is not present in future albums.
“Carriers of Dust” was being recorded in 2005 and so I was able to scope out “A Scream to Express the Hate of a Race” in advance and through its edits. This album has four songs and it spans nearly 48 minutes. This is in part because the final song is 22 minutes long. This, to me, was when they became my favorite band. This album is one of the best albums I have ever heard.
In 2008, the final (so far) album, “Gangrene” was released. As far as songwriting and composition goes, there is no greater album in the history of the world. I may change my opinion at some point but this is where it has stood for the past eight years for me. With six songs totaling 65 minutes in length, the epic scope is brutal, intense, and beautiful. “The Fecal Rebellion”, featured below, has some of the cleanest guitar I have ever heard and the drumming is phenomenal. There is a point somewhere in the 12-minute range where the cymbals are hit at a speed that seems absolutely inhuman.
Nobody seems to know the future of Mirrorthrone. Will there be more albums? Or is this magnum opus the final curtain? Vladimir Cochet has other projects. Weeping Birth released an album last year so there is hope!
Tune in next week where I either do the same thing I did this week or I do something else!
-Ryan