Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz | SUBMIT: Song Album | About | MusicXRay sign up | Suggest an artist

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Smoke & Mirrors - Gates Of Hell (song review) |self released, Gates Of Hell, 2011|

This American quartet from Minnesota called Smoke & Mirrors was established by Justin Von Rueden (bass), Benjamin Leff (drums) and KC Jones (guitar, vocals) in 2009. Guitarist Alex Ziemann joined the band more recently. Together they released an EP entitled Gates Of Hell in 2011 which boosted their on-line and concert activities. Smoke & Mirrors has kept climbing towards their scheduled goals ever since.

The title song from this EP brings the moods of rock and blues ballads with heavy accents coming from a fusion of guitar and bass. Guitar solos appear in the second part of the song and they vitalize this composition along with the vocals. A peaceful tempo and classical arrangements stand for an interesting espionage towards the feel of 70’s hard rock and should be loved by those of you searching for new bands inspired by such tunes.
The track is additionally spiced up with the grunge vibes and vocals reminiscent of Bush or Creed.
The song sounds memorable and its lyrics touch the subject of feelings, making emotional decisions, missing aspects, suffering and having a broken heart linked with all of the above.
”Gates Of Hell” was produced by Ian Carlson and mastered by Greg Rierson.

A band playing classic rock music doesn’t need to deal with a lack of acceptance when booking shows or festivals, in contrast to artists who represent very new and little recognized music genres. The same thing happens with grunge as mentioned above, which has probably been the last revolution in the history of rock music so far. Both styles have been attracting listeners that can be seen as well on the club performance videos Smoke & Mirrors has published on YouTube.

If you recommend rock, metal or blues music, you shouldn’t forget to express your interest towards this band. ”Gates Of Hell” takes a bit more than 4 minutes to listen to. This is the reason why it may perfectly fit any thematic radio or TV show as well as podcast. Profiles for Smoke & Mirrors can be found on most well known social networks. Be sure to look up their EP on iTunes.

(Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Magazine, January 25th, 2012. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens)

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