Customer Reviews

Into the Mirror Black

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't understand why this release is so overlooked. "Into The Mirror Black" has to be one of the best Heavy Metal releases of 1990....

This is much more mature than "Refuge Denied". It's also much easier to listen to. The guitar soloing here is incredible, and the songs are pure Metal at it's best. It's better organized than RD, and the sound is more on the lines of "Nevermore"....

This release must not be overlooked. If your interested in something new, or something that you may have missed out on in the 90's, Sanctuary's "Into The Mirror Black" is certainly a release you should check out....

It's without question Sanctuary's finest hour....

In a word, this, the second and sadly final album from Sanctuary, is GENIUS. Cerebral power metal at its finest. Your favorite band blows compared to Sanctuary. You know it, I know it, we all know it.
There's no point in breaking down each song into its essential parts, this album as a whole is essential for any self-respecting disciple of Heavy Metal. It is one of those ultra-rare records where there isn't one song even remotely bad.
Lenny Rutledge is one of the finest composers this genre has seen, with his mastery of heaviness and melody, and the complex arrangements which give both rhythm guitars the occasional separate-but-similar riff that eventually meld back together into a dark whirling inferno. And Warrel Dane's vocals are mesmerizing and passionate. Again, one of the greatest. He still rules fronting Nevermore, but it's a shame he can't quite reach such tormented heights like on here. That's aging for you. And lyrically he weaves his mystical words like seances for sorrowed spirits.
Dave Budbill: where are you now? One of the best metal drummers of all time.
The production is light years ahead of its predecessor (which was filtered through Dave Mustaine's heroin fog), clean, crisp, and sharp. We are not worthy.
With only 2 records to its credit, it would be so easy for Sanctuary to be overlooked when someone compiles the "greatest of all time" lists. But this star, though brief, burned brighter than all the rest.
Don't let this band fade into memory. One of the greatest to ever bless our ears with its unique, never duplicated style of power metal. Tell all of your headbanging friends who think they know metal to get this as well. They will thank you. But I warn you: one listen to this will render all of your precious cds, the ones you think you hold so dear, meaningless. This is the only one you need.
Well, this and Refuge Denied.

Into the Mirror Black is Sanctuary's second and unfortunately last album. The band broke up after this release before evolving into the great band known as Nevermore. Leaving its Priest influences on Refuge Denied behind, with this release, Sanctuary show incredible amount of growth in their songwriting. The melodies are quite catchy with memorable vocal harmonies provided by Warrel Dane. Also, unlike Dave Mustaine's production on Refuge Denied, Into theMirror Black has a sharper sound and more focused riffs centred around Dane's almost thrashy vocal style.

This album is where the seeds of the current Nevermore were planted. Released in 1989, Mirror Black was Dane's testimony to a darker, deeper and more captivating musical vision. The thrashy riffs, which would later become the trademark Nevermore style, abound most of the compositions here. Although the opening song "Future Tense" is the most popular song on the album, I am of the strong opinion that Warrel Dane and his friends outdo this track several times. The first wonder is "Taste Revenge" displaying Dane's slightly operatic but moreso aggressive delivery. This song has everything: hooks, melodies, stunning guitar solos and searing vocals. "Epitaph" sounds like the first ever tune penned by Dane that would eventually lead him to write his most incredible masterpiece Dreaming Neon Black ten years after this album. It begins with a very dark and unusual vocal style and delves into unexplored territory picking up on speed and heaviness. "Eden Lies Obscured" and "The Mirror Black" are two other songs that follow this amazing track and become the centrepiece of the entire record. The opening scream of "The Mirror Black" is one of the finest moments on this disc. The lyrical depth of these songs exploring political corruption and how politicians manipulate the society are fearlessly criticised.

It is obvious that Dane opted for a more distinctive style when he was writing this album. The structure of the songs are rather unusual compared to other 80's band and Dane uses his voice in every different style possible. The opening song "Future Tense" offers lots of stop-starts with a variety of key and tempo changes. In this aspect I am slightly reminded of bands like earlier Psychotic Waltz and Antithesis. I can also see some older Queensryche fans digging this release if they're up for songs in a heavier context.

"Long Since Dark", "Seasons of Destruction" and "Communion" are more on the heavier side of the spectrum with relentless guitar work and thrashy rhythm patterns. "One More Murder" lies somewhere in between spawning the roots of some of the songs on the self-titled Nevermore debut. The songs are within the 4-6 minute mark and the record clocks in at over 46 minutes. 15 years after its release, it still finds its place in my stereo quite often. If you like Nevermore and have never heard any Sancturay before, this is where you should start. It is no where near as dark and brooding as Nevermore but it has more emphasis on melody and vocal harmonies. Highly recommended to any metal fan regardless of what genre appeals to them most.

MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED ON THIER SECOND RELEASE. THE LYRICAL CONTENT, SINGING, AND PLAYING ARE MUCH CLOER TO THAT OF NEVERMORE'S STYLE. WHICH TO ME MAKES THIS ALBUM MUCH BETTER THAN REFUGE DENIED. THE RECORDING QUALITY IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIER LAST ALBUM TOO. THIS ALBUM IS FULL OF KILLER CLASSICS LIKE FUTURE TENSE (WHICH NEVERMORE HAS PLAYED LIVE) AND THE MIRROR BLACK. TO THINK THIS ALBUM WAS MADE IN 1990 WOULD PUT THEM AHEAD OF THIER TIME. I RARELY SAY A BAND IS AHEAD OF THIER TIME BUT SANCTUARY WAS IN THE LATE 80'S AND NOW NEVERMORE IS. THE GUITAR PLAYERS ON THIS ALBUM ARE NOT AS TALENTED AS THE GREAT JEFF LOOMIS, BUT STILL PLAY DIFFICULT GUITAR TECHNIQUES THAT MAKE THIS ALBUM STANDOUT FROM ALL OF THE OTHER THRASH ALBUMS OF THAT TIME. THERE ISN'T MUCH TOO SAY OTHER THAN IF YOU ARE INTO NEVERMORE PICK THIS ALBUM UP BEFORE "REFUGE DENIED", THIS IS WHERE THE NEVERMORE LEGACY BEGAN. LET HISTORY UNFOLD. BY THE WAY THE LYRICS ARE REALLY COOL TOO.

This is the first masterpiece of Warrel Dane!!! The musicianship is great here, incredible complex guitar riffs, the bass lines are very interesting, and the vocals from Warrel are very high, with clear screams. Recommended if you are a thrash metal fan of the early 90's.

I'm going to make this short. I wanted to purchase this because I love Nevermore and this was basically pre-nevermore Dane and it is AWESOME!!!! I love this cd, great musicianship, vocals and dark lyrical content which brings me to the point why I wrote this review in the first place. THIS IS NOT POWER METAL!!! I love power metal actually but this is so far away from power metal. Power metal is, at least for the most part, light and happy having to do with fantasy with pure operatic vocals. First off, this cd is far from light and happy. It is very dark with a definite heavy sound. While Dane has operatic sounding vocals at times, he also has gruffier vocals at times. I actually liken him to King Diamond. He may not go as over the top as Diamond but he has the mixing it up with high and low notes like Diamond.

Needless to say, this is an awesome release by a great unrecognized band. Do yourself a favor and buy this gem.

I'm quite surprised to see so few reviews for this recording given that Warrel Dane formed the more popular band Nevermore.
This one tops easily their previous recording "Refuge Denied" in both lyrics and musicianship.
A truly impressive record from start to finish.

I had both Santurary releases on cassette back in the early 90's they helped get me through my 4 year grind of active duty in the US Navy. I used to listen to Battle Angels and THE MIRROR BLACK over and over again.

What insane vocals Warren had on the first album, on par with King Diamond. For the mirror Black his vocals toned down a bit as production focused more on lyrics and music rather then his vocals. I think he just matured musically alot of this is seen on Nevermore.

If this type of metal was your thing and you missed out I would recommend getting a copy. Check out the battle angel video on yourtubedotcom. Do a search for battle angel on the site.

I bought this when it was first released on vinyl, and then spent years waiting for it to finally become available on CD. It's one of only a few albums I never got sick of even though I've played it what really should be too many times. My favourite tracks would be 'Eden Lies Obscured' and the title track, but there's not a track on this album that I'd skip. Powerful, very well executed, great lyrics, melodic and heavy -all the things I like best in music! And I love the actual concept of the 'black mirror' in occultism, so that just adds to my whole appreciation of this album. Highly recommended.

Sanctary was one of the best metal bands from Seattle !! . " future tense" is a poem in the metal pages a really good song of progressive metal.