The Sham Mirrors

Last updated
The Sham Mirrors
Arcturustheshammirrors.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 22, 2002
Recorded2000–2001
Genre Avant-garde metal, progressive black metal
Length43:13
Label Ad Astra Enterprises
Arcturus chronology
La Masquerade Infernale
(1997)
The Sham Mirrors
(2002)
Sideshow Symphonies
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Chronicles of Chaos 9.5/10 [2]

The Sham Mirrors is the third studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. It was released on April 9, 2002.

Contents

The Sham Mirrors is a departure from the band's previous albums, featuring a much more modern, space-influenced sound, as opposed to the layered, classical melodies of 1997's La Masquerade Infernale . The album contains elements of trip hop, ambient music and electronica in addition to the band's usual progressive black metal sound. Lyrically, the album deals with abstract science fiction-themed subjects, a stark contrast to the theatrical and Satanic lyrics of the band's earlier work. The album cover depicts a model drawing of the upper part of the Apollo spaceship.

This is the last album to feature Kristoffer Rygg on vocals.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Kristoffer Rygg, except tracks 4 and 6, written by Jørn H. Sværen; all music is composed by Steinar Sverd Johnsen

No.TitleLength
1."Kinetic"5:25
2."Nightmare Heaven"6:05
3."Ad Absurdum"6:48
4."Collapse Generation"4:13
5."Star-Crossed"5:01
6."Radical Cut"5:08
7."For to End Yet Again"10:33
Total length:43:13

Personnel

Arcturus
Additional Musicians
Production Staff

Charts

Chart (2002)Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [3] 39

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References

  1. York, William. "The Sham Mirrors - Arcturus : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  2. Kalis, Quentin (7 April 2003). "CoC : Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors : Review". Chronicles of Chaos . Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  3. "Arcturus: The Sham Mirrors" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 December 2021.