frank1979

Well... what can I say... among all the reviews, it seems like every album in this world is either a beautiful 5 or an ugly 1. This signifies how, in the end, music is a subjective matter. Giving a flat 1 to Eliminator seems exaggerated to me; I had heard this album and it seems much flatter than Eliminator.

A somewhat restrained review, but it conveys the sense of omnipotence that this album has; it's fire... be careful not to hold it for too long or you'll burn your delicate little hands.

The review is well written, but I won't give it 5 stars because it overly praises an album that I believe is one of the most trivial a band can produce, regardless of the group. Personally, I started listening to BÖC after seeing an animated film called "Heavy Metal," whose soundtrack featured hit songs from the narrow period between the late 70s and the very early 80s, specifically from 78 to 81, when heavy metal wasn't yet something clearly defined (except for NWOBHM with Iron Maiden). Being an American movie, metal didn't actually exist in the U.S. at that time. Anyway, in this film, there was a song that is my favorite by BÖC, featured on what I consider to be their best album, the song is "Veteran of Psychic War" from the album "Fire of Unknown Origin."
Going back to the album in question, "Mirrors," I was surprised to find it uniquely banal for the simple fact that it contains subliminal esoteric and satanic content. You can verify this by watching the song "Mirrors" on YouTube, which contains an explanation. When I first saw the album, I also noticed a strange internal photo of the band members with the palm of their hands facing the viewer, containing a kind of luminous stone (perhaps a mirror), now that I think about it. Initially, I attributed this to BÖC's particularity of being somewhat esoteric in their albums. However, even the early albums I know little about have lyrics bordering on satanism. Perhaps an album like "Mirrors," with its somewhat banal sounds, was purposely produced to contain messages of this kind.
In any case, musically speaking, it is not at all what the review suggests; for example, the song "Black Blade" from the subsequent album "Coleosaurus Hecticus" is worth about ten of this album in terms of originality and concept. But perhaps all of BÖC's albums seem to be a bit occult; my favorites are "Agents of Fortune," the live album "Some Enchanted Evening," "Fire of Unknown Origin," my favorite "Club Ninja," and "Imaginos." Although I must admit the remarkable quality of "Heaven Forbidden" from 1998.

I downloaded the album illegally, and I must say I even ruined a blank CD. If I had known, I wouldn't have even spent the 53 cents for the Verbatim CD. It absolutely sucks; it's light years away from what the real Savatage used to be... Savatage has been dead for a while now, precisely since Criss Oliva left. It's pointless to keep annoying us with lies like forcing people to believe that the best albums are the ones from the '90s. Come on, be objective and admit it's not true. The only original member left is Jon Oliva, who seems more confused than convinced. He doesn’t have the charisma and genius of his brother; evidently, it was Criss who drove the band. Since his passing, it’s useless to pretend nothing has changed and not admit the obvious decline they’ve experienced. There was even a moment when Criss Oliva wasn't even there to make the album... Now they've been silent for almost 7 years; let's hope they've realized it's time to let go and stop making terrible fools of themselves in front of the world. To give you an idea, it's like if only the chassis of a Ferrari remained... "the Savatage brand", but it's powered by a Fiat 500 engine. It's pathetic. Criss himself wouldn't want this; the blame lies with Jon Oliva. Why doesn't he start another band?

I'VE NOTICED THAT KAKKA IS NOW RE-EVALUATING THAT JUSTICE, SO I WAS RIGHT TO TRASH IT LIKE IN MY REVIEW OF RAM IT DOWN! IT SAID THAT THIS ALBUM WAS EVEN BANAL... DAMNED PUBERTY-STRUCK TEENS!!! ANYWAY, THIS ALBUM IS DEFINITELY A COMMANDMENT OF METAL, AND THE REVIEW DOES IT JUSTICE!

SENMAYAN meaning you’re either in or you’re not.. then that other one CRONOM or whatever it's called, claiming this album is heavy metal when it's hard rock, I agree that I’m the only one who hails the early albums as masterpieces because art is not for everyone and few understand it... and there's no arguing about that, and I reiterate that the album is slow.. not as slow as Streets but slow...

In my opinion, this is the last good, heavy, and badass album they made. The one after "Gutter Ballet" is nice too, but starting from "Streets," they take a path that I don't musically agree with. For me, Savatage died with "Gutter Bullet."

I give the review 3 because it praises albums that I don't like, namely those from the nineties. I don't know the album, so I can't rate it. I don't think I'll buy it because I don't trust it...

It can be stated with certainty that you are nothing but two idiots... both the one who wrote the review and senmayan. Because if you talk to me about originality, then it's exactly these guys who should be listened to first; no one had done things like them, not even outside America. The tones contained from "Sirens" to "Hall of the Mountain King," except for the more commercial "Fight for the Rock," will be unrepeatable... THE DECLINE OF SAVATAGE BEGINS WITH STREETS... and it intensifies with the death of Criss Oliva. Personally, for example, I consider "Edge of Thorns" to be far superior to "Streets." ANYWAY, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG AND PRESUMPTUOUS FOR NOW; WHEN YOU REACH MY AGE, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND: EVEN IF I BELIEVE IT'S HARD BECAUSE YOU BELONG TO A SHIT GENERATION! P.S. When I listen to an album, I dissect it; I listen to it multiple times a day... and I catch all its nuances. "Streets" is just a sort of poorly executed autobiography... the real concept albums are "Operation: Mindcrime" by Queensrÿche and "The Wall" by Pink Floyd, but "Streets" is just a little work, and you think like adolescent idiots. How old are you?? You have no idea what heavy metal is; I bet you listen to Slipknot or Lordi...

The album is decent, the review kind of sucks because, as usual, the dull types have to throw in comparisons with other bands, other musical styles, and so on. Operation: Mindcrime, both 1 and 2, didn't thrill me much musically speaking... everyone has their own tastes; personally, I prefer The Warning... and you'll understand why by reading the review I wrote for it.
Since my friend mentions Helloween in the albums "Keeper of the 7th Key 1 & 2," I have to say these are the only two albums that really disappoint me from Helloween... not to mention that I'm not crazy about the band itself. I think they have done much better... in these two records, the singer comes off as clumsy, awkward, and out of tune even live... absolutely not of quality, but it's just my opinion anyway...