Mirror Of My Soul is the solo project of Dun Ringill bass player Patrik Andersson Winberg, formerly of The Order Of Israfel and Doomdogs. The project has been several years in the making and although the lyrics are dark and doomy, something Patrik is very familiar with, musically the album veers away from that. Instead 'October Is Rising' is stripped down and sombre akin to Nick Cave as well as drawing inspiration from Johnny Cash and Fields Of Nephilim. Depending on the format you pick either 10 or 13 songs are available, CD and LP has the former amount while the digital version has the latter. I'm blessed to have the digital and therefore this review covers the higher number.
Patrik handles the bass guitar and most of the keyboard parts but he also excels at mouth harp, mellotron, piano and banjo and to forget he sings on the last track, 'The Painter'.Versatile as he is though he brought in three musicians who helped him all the way through. Patric Gramman, his fellow band mate from Dun Rungill plays guitar on all songs and drummers Pete Campbell from Axe Dragger – formerly of Pentagram – and Tobias Strandvik from Kamchatka and King Hobo bang the skins on 8 songs and 5 respectively. These guys are the core of it all but other musicians appear as well and lets not forget all the singers, a different one for each song.
The album begins with 'The One Who Sings This Song' with Richard Reynolds singing. It is kind of laidback and minimalistic, which is a constant thread through this entire recording, with an odd but very good guitar riff. And Ryan comes across like a mix of Andrew Eldritch and Pete Steele. The flute solo by Morten Möller is great. The title track 'October Is Rising' follows and comes across like Pagan Altarbut very stripped down, bare and wonderful. Terry Slesser's (Geordie and Backstreet Crawler) voice brings out the despearation and melancholy of the lyrics perfectly while Per Wiberg's piano heightens the song as well. 'Carry Your Soul' follows and is slow and jazzy but ups the ante in the chorus. Again, Patrik has picked the right singer, this time in the shape of Rust Bucket's Andy Campbell. What a great song 'A Good Day To Die' is! Patrik has really dug deep writing this song which is further emphazised by Damon Collum's earthshaking vocals. Philip Lindgren from Hypnos handles the vocals and flute on the Swedish-sung 'Mina Fotavtryck'. Keeping to the sparse and minimalistic approach the songs picks it up in the chorus. 'Lost In The Red Wine' rocks in parts while retaining the bleak outlook Patrik so brilliantly displays. Niklas Sjöberg from The Graviators sings on this one and does such a great job. Lovisa's delicate voice enhances 'Grandpa' endlessly. A breathtaking ode to Patrik's grandfather this is one of my absolute favourites on this record.
'Coyote' has a Swedish folk music feel to it in parts, perhaps due to the mouth harp and tempo of the song. And of course, Songdog's voice adds to that. Regardless, this is a very good composition with the bass guitar being the conductor of the music in the most exquisite way. 'Tree On That Hill' finds Tobias Jansson singing and he is perfect in this dark almost medieval sounding creation. Mainly using an acoustic guitar, slide guitar and light percussion there's a hint of Americana in the chorus. 'The Letter' is faster, heavy and it rocks with the slide guitar taking centre stage. Add Niklas Börjesson's raspy deep voice to the equation and you have this diamond in the rough. Coming on melancholic and dejected 'Dancing Slowly On The Porch' is like Fields Of The Nephilim was fronted by Andrew Eldritch. Beautiful indeed, and it's nice to hear Tony Jelenchovich singing tender and delicate. Great! Chris Lohikoski Svensson sings on 'The Owl' and his great strong voice fits the song perfectly. Has a sense of contentment and release about it which is highlighted by the keyboards and banjo. 'October Is Rising' ends with 'The Painter' where Patrick handles the vocals himself to great aplomb. It is dark, eerie and dejected with a strong Nick Cave feel.
What is there to say about Patrik Andersson Winberg 's solo debut? Absolutely fantastic, and then some. 'October Is Rising' is bare, stripped down and minimalistic sound-wise and dark and melancholic lyrically which could take you down dark rabbit holes. But Patrik weaves it all together so seamlessly creating a master piece in the process. Can't speak highly enough about this beautiful album and all I can suggest is get a copy, listen and let Mirror Of My Soul immerse you. Great, indeed!
-Swedebeast
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