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Eucharist – Mirrorworlds [Re-Release]

eucharist – mirrorworlds [re-release]

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Nostalgia. ‘Mirrorworlds’ is an album that completely fits that description. It takes me back to a time when I was a teen. A time that the Gothenburg melodic Death Metal scene was exploding, when listening to a record beforehand was impossible and where you were dependent on tape trading, a review in a printed zine, or on the basis of the cover in a record store or in your favourite mail-order catalogue. The latter is how I ended up with my copy of ‘Mirrorworlds’, and although I parted with my CD collection many years ago, I’ve always remembered the album fondly. A memory that was reignited upon reviewing the band’s most recent work, ‘I Am the Void’. And lucky for me, and those that missed the album initially or re-issues over the years, the album was re-released on all physical formats in late 2022 by Regain Records.

‘Mirrorworlds followed up on the debut album of the band, ‘A Velvet Creation’, although that debut might not have completely lived up to the expectation of the well-received demos. But on the sophomore album, Eucharist had perfected the template that the band set on their previous recordings, leading to an album that should rightfully be viewed as a classic of the blooming Gothenburg scene. Eucharist’s sound was far less strongly going for the Death Metal direction but rather added more of a melancholic, down-tuned blend with Black Metal hints that followed closer on the earlier work of At the Gates and its predecessor Grotesque. That different approach makes ‘Mirrorworlds’ stand as quite a unique album, different yet very much part of that scene. And considering their different approach and feeling for dynamics, it is far less one-dimensional than many of their scene peers.

The album is chockful of highlights. From the up-tempo, typical Gothenburg song ‘Mirrorworld’, to the varied ‘With the Sun’, or the more grooving and melodic instrumental ‘The Eucharist’. Or the more At the Gates-like ‘Demons’ or the melancholically intense album closer ‘Bloodred Stars’. But one song stands above all.

If you mention ‘Mirrorworlds’, it immediately reminds me of the song ‘Dissolving’. It’s a song I’ve never forgotten over the 25+ years since I first heard it. As VM colleague FelixS rightfully suggested, ‘Dissolving’ might very well be the best Gothenburg melodic Death Metal style song ever written. I can’t agree more. Mid-tempo, melodic and filled to the brim of melancholy, the song to me is the perfect example, not only of what Eucharist had to offer but also what distinguished them and catapulted them to one of the best bands the scene had to offer.

We’ve seen many albums re-released over the last years, and sometimes there’s quite some merit to discussing whether that was really necessary. There is, however, no doubt whatsoever when it comes to Eucharist’s ‘Mirrorworlds’. It’s a timeless classic, an album that showed a unique side of the Gothenburg melodic Death Metal scene, and I for one am thrilled to see this being kept in circulation.