Elvish Mirage is a Shimla based Progressive Rock/Metal band formed in 2010. Elvish Mirage means Mystical Illusion, which, according to the band, refers to their sound which is unbound and growing. The band has seen few major changes in its line-up, even after the release of their debut EP, and now the band consists of Shreya Tyagi on Vocals, Vishesh Kapil and Sandarsh Srivastav on guitars, Joy Francis on bass guitar and Stephen on drums. But during the time of recording and release of the EP, the vocalist was Shivam Aggarval. He is now an ex-member of the band. Elvish Mirage has played in many “Battle of Bands” and supporting acts in North India. Band’s major influences comprises of Opeth, Dream Theatre, Porcupine Tree, Lamb of God, Led Zeppelin and many more.
Elvish Mirage has released their debut EP named “Reflections in Flickering Hope”. The album’s artwork has been designed by their ex-vocalist Shivam Aggarwal himself. Also, the EP has been recorded and mastered in their jam room only, using a little sound engineering knowledge Shivam Aggarwal had.
Well, moving on to the EP, “Reflections in Flickering Hope” is a two track EP, which clocks in at over 15 minutes. Both are Progressive Metal tracks. The first track ‘A Lullaby For The Soul’ is about a mother who is trying to put his son to sleep by telling him few beautiful things in the night. But ends up telling him the contradictory reality of life. The track kicks off with pretty dull intro that lumbers for nearly four minutes before giving way to sustained power chords and harsh vocals. The second track ‘Tears of Solitude’ talks about someone who has been left alone in the misery. This track pretty much follows the same structure, alternating between clean and distorted parts. Vocals are clean, but barely audible and the growls are not that impressive too. The guitar work is very ordinary from a band who terms their music as progressive. There isn’t a single riff you will remember for a while in odd 15 minutes. The bass isn’t up to the mark throughout the EP. The drums, also mostly consist of tepid percussive samples being played on loop. The production, also, is ordinary. This EP is not going to do it for them, that the band would have expected. The first time listeners won’t be able to paint a pretty image about the band.
Also, if you are playing the same three notes on a loop for five minutes, you can’t categorize your music as progressive. Some may call it one of the poorest releases to come out the Indian Scene in a while, but well, the guys are young and this is only their debut effort. The band has a long way to go as musicians. So, I wish them good luck for their future projects and hope they will improve on what they’ve been lagging behind in this EP. Cheers!
Review by Dinesh Verma