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SÖLICITÖR “Enemy in Mirrors”
SÖLICITÖR “Enemy in Mirrors”
By Theron Moore
Seattle’s SÖLICITÖR are gearing up to drop their highly anticipated record “Enemy In Mirrors” September 19 via Gates Of Hell Records. Full transparency – I’m a SÖLICITÖR fan. I enjoyed previous records “All Debts On Death”, “Spectral Devastation”, and their 2019 EP, and was blown away by their live performance at the 2024 edition of Blades Of Steel in Madison. I just can’t connect with “Enemy In Mirrors”.
The band stated in their bio that, “…This album is darker, more melodic, much more expressive, personal, and may take some by surprise for better or worse.” I included this quote in this review for a reason. Refer back to it as needed.
To start with, either SÖLICITÖRwas shooting for a raw, lo-fi sound on this disc, or the production just doesn’t do their music justice. For another, Amy Lee Carlson’s vocals sound forced and strained at times especially on the track “Iron Wolves of War.” Her screams sounded like they were over driven, or she overreached on them. In fact, her vocals are problematic in the sense they don’t seem to match with certain songs on this album or going back to what I previously said, sounding forced.
“Spellbound Mist” is a slower, mid-tempo paced song which somehow morphs into a full-on speed metal attack halfway through before ending with a confused melodic outro which doesn’t seem to cohesively fit in with the song much.“We Who Remain” is generic NWOTHM at best and features Carlson doing a slow melodic outro that is not value added to the tune at all. Even “Fallen Angel” which might be one of the better songs on “Enemy Of Mirrors” doesn’t work for me.
I’m not here to slag on this band. They’re good people and solid musicians that support the scene and you can’t ask for more than that. I didn’t connect with this record, that’s all. I found it disjointed and creatively confusing regarding the musical direction. I felt like SÖLICITÖR couldn’t decide on or figure out their musical identity on “Enemy In Mirrors” like they did with previous releases. Sorry, I can’t and won’t recommend this record.
2/5 Stars
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