Mirror of Souls

Almost exactly a year after Edu Falaschi graced us with his solo album Vera Cruz, his little brother Tito Falaschi releases his first solo album. I’ll open this up with a disclaimer: no this album is not as good as Vera Cruz, nor should any of us expect it to be. Rather than a high speed symphonic power metal album, this is more of a typical progressive power metal album with some fun guest musicians. 

Tito hits us first with a really good instrumental intro track actually, putting the listener in the mood for some cinematic music. The transition into Fight for Freedom is excellent and the first two tracks of this album provide a nice kick in the ass. Beyond the Shore ended up being one of my favorite songs on this, Fight for Freedom is power metal through and through, but Beyond the Shore is more intricate and the chorus is actually quite unique to my ears. The Falaschi bros certainly know how to write inspirational symphonic power metal and even though I don't care for a few of the songs on this album, I love the overall vibe and feel of the album, not to mention I think as Tito writes and releases more music he'll only get better. 

Unfortunately after those first two songs we get into my least favorite stretch of the album. Mostly because we get 4 mid tempo songs in a row. Like an Angel was a song that took me time to warm up to, but the hook is strong and the riffs are pleasant. As an aside, Tito really has a good mind for melodic guitar noodling even when I think a song is boring, his guitar playing is wonderful and his vocals are great, all of which help make up for otherwise slow and boring music. Leave it all Behind is a solid ballad, reminiscent of something Edu would have written for Almah actually. The chorus is pretty good, but nothing else about the song sticks out to me. Still I've heard far worse ballads. Ugh then we have Grains of Sand; boring, boring, boring. I don't like the electronic intro, I don't like the riffs, and I don't like the chorus. It's very typical hard rock kind of stuff and it just does nothing for me. I really don't like much about this song honestly, but the bridge and solo are good enough to provide the song some redemption. Still once I'm done reviewing this album, I will probably never listen to this song again, other than to confirm that it does indeed suck. Mesmerized is a breath of fresh air after those three songs. It's not super memorable, but once again a song with excellent guitar work and just a good sense of melody. Tito's songwriting (song construction) could use some work, but he has the instincts and this song is at least interesting. Oh and this isn't a complaint, more a curiosity; on my file for Mesmerized there's a bit of crackle and pop towards the end of the song, I wonder if this is a problem with all copies or just my copy. I hope it's only mine because otherwise that would be unfortunate.

Then I get to start this paragraph with the best song on the album, Dreamers. Look I know it's easy to say the only straight up power metal track on the album is the best one, but even beyond the speed and entertainment of the song itself, it's also placed perfectly in the album. Despite some less than stellar tracks this album works as well as it does because it's well paced. It's also divided up really nicely, Grateful and the Hunter are both relatively catchy, though I wouldn't call them memorable. Deep inside of Me is another ballad, and it's okay. Unfortunately it just reminds me of the first one, only this one is less memorable. I'll never understand why artists like putting multiple mid tempo ballads on their albums so much, isn't one enough? 

Silent Terror is the song we've all been waiting for; Tito and Edu Falaschi singing on the same song? That alone would be enough to get me to buy this album. Silent Terror is mid tempo, but it's fun and more energetic than most. The riffs are filthy and it's great hearing Edu fill out the vocal performance. It's also great hearing Edu end the song with a classic "look out!". If you're an Edu fan you know what I mean. Then Lost in Shadows is the 7+ minute pseudo epic of the album. It's not the best song on the album by any means, but it shows a different side of Tito's songwriting. This one fits into that progressive power metal mould, while still being catchy and fun. The run time gives Tito a chance to stretch his writing chops a little bit which I appreciate. This song seems a little more experimental, at least in structure compared to the rest of the album and I hope it represents signs of things to come. 

This is one of those albums that has a couple of clunkers, but you can't help but forgive the album because A) it's the man's first solo album and B) the rest of the album is good enough to warrant some slack cutting. Songs like Fight for Freedom, Beyond the Shore, Dreamers, and Silent Terror are more than enough to justify purchasing this album. Aside from the mid tempo songs I'm not fond of, my only other complaint is that I wanted more Brazilian elements, in the percussion especially. I'm excited to see what Tito Falaschi does next, he's a great musician, and I'm glad he's finally striking out and doing his own thing. He'll only get better and better at it.