{"id":105169,"date":"2025-07-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105169"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:01:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:01:29","slug":"album-review-black-rose-the-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-black-rose-the-mirror\/","title":{"rendered":"BLACK ROSE – The Mirror (2025) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACK ROSE
\nThe Mirror<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSleaszy Rider (2025)<\/span>
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I thought this might be the anticipated return of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends who impressed so greatly on their 2022 WTF<\/em><\/a> return. Alas no, but this is instead a new release from another band with an admirable history. Having formed in 1990, this particular Black Rose also produces a strong mix of heavy metal and hard rock.<\/p>\n

The Mirror<\/em> is the eighth full-length from Sweden\u2019s Black Rose, a foursome that released its debut during the changing and somewhat turbulent period of the early 90s. That particular debut was aptly entitled Fortune Favours The Brave<\/em> (1993), but in spite of a few demo recordings into the late 90s, the combo wouldn\u2019t return with a self-titled sophomore until 2002. Strangely, Black Rose began to become more prolific with 2004 seeing the release of third full-length Explode<\/em>. The band hit a purple patch somewhat from 2011 to 2018, issuing three more albums and then in 2021 a seventh platter emerged under the title of Game Of Souls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As expected from a band with over 30 years in the business there has been numerous line-up changes, although mostly in the vocal department. As of now, the frontman is Jakob Sandberg who joined ten years ago. He\u2019s joined by Black Rose veterans Anders Haga (bass) and Peter Haga (drums) along with newest recruit Mikael Dahlin (guitar) who joined in 2022.<\/p>\n

The Mirror<\/em> reminds me of a late 90s heavy metal style, the sort of heavy rock that Black Sabbath<\/a> might have put out. Album opener \u2018Dualities\u2019 runs like a track bordering on Scandinavian power metal, a tad overproduced but Sandberg brings a gritty power to the lead role. To be honest, if you like any sort of hard rockin\u2019 metal from 220 Volt to UFO, and from The Cult to Whitesnake, then you\u2019ll enjoy this.<\/p>\n

I was surprised by the amount of swagger which oozes from this album. \u2018Heavy Metal Angel\u2019 is a struttin\u2019, smouldering dash of late 80s rock, the riff being cocksure and funky and the vocals conjuring echoes of David Coverdale and Ian Astbury. \u2018Shine\u2019 is lighter and breezier, touching upon an AOR aesthetic and also exhibiting the variety of melodies these guys can create. \u2018Wildfire\u2019 rattles like a swaggering early Europe, the percussive backbone a real treat if you can isolate such cool grooves. The steamy strut remains, Black Rose still touching upon a bluesy catchiness without sacrificing edge and metallic confidence.<\/p>\n

\u2018Rebel Soul\u2019 is sumptuous in its strides as the funky bass leads us into melodious riffs and Sandberg\u2019s soaring pipes, and \u2018Farewell, Misery\u2019 brings a darker touch while still maintaining its soul. Streaked with some killer solo work, \u2018Farewell, Misery\u2019 stands out due to its variety of shades, but then I got hit with the emphatic trudging of \u2018The Labyrinth Of Me\u2019 and that\u2019s the point I truly sold my soul. Somewhat gothic and grandiose, this song should, in a fairer world, catapult these guys beyond the realm of cult status. It\u2019s deliciously crafted, unravelling majestic and confident as Sandberg snarls \u201cThe floor has been pulled from my feet,\u201d<\/em> to an almost jarring and abrasive tone. This is certainly Black Rose at their darkest, sneering through the wisps of grey smoke. In contrast \u2018Heaven\u2019s Gate\u2019 is a killer ballad featuring stark nodding drum and guitar. \u201cNow I\u2019ve found myself in a better place,\u201d<\/em> croons Sandberg. It\u2019s another highlight, although the album hardly dips in quality.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Sole Survivor\u2019 begins with an almost progressive tumble of drums, and of all the tracks it\u2019s probably the most contemporary sounding. \u201cWhen I look into the mirror I see beyond the stars,\u201d<\/em> beams Sandberg on driving closer \u2018Divine Sign\u2019. The guitars shred again, spiralling a solo out of a mesh of riff and bass. The Mirror<\/em> \u2019is such a superb record, one that provides a refreshing respite from the bog standard traditional metal junk being thrown out at the moment.<\/p>\n

Black Rose, just like their fellow UK rockers of the same moniker, has built a superb opus awash with nostalgic struts, but also contemporary coolness. If this album doesn\u2019t make your end of year top ten list then leave the room now.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLACK ROSE The Mirror Sleaszy Rider (2025) Rating: 8.5\/10 I thought this might be the anticipated return of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends who impressed so greatly on their 2022 WTF return. Alas no, but this is instead a new release from another band with an admirable history. Having formed in 1990, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,5946],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-black-rose-sweden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105170,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105169\/revisions\/105170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}