{"id":434435,"date":"2025-09-18T20:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T20:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434435\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T20:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T20:41:10","slug":"solicitor-enemy-in-mirrors-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434435\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u00f6licit\u00f6r – Enemy in Mirrors Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>\u2019s 2020 debut<\/a> made quite the splash \u2019round these parts when 4.\u00d6ldeneye<\/strong> heaped glorious praise all over it. The five-piece out of Seattle has been quiet since then, releasing an EP in 2022 totaling two songs. Now they return for their sophomore release with a philosophy of more \u2013 more songs, more length, and even a couple more instruments (piano, synths). The members wanted to take a more hands-on approach with Enemy in Mirrors, which is why vocalist Amy Lee Carlson lent not only her pipes but also her artistic ability in designing the cover art. While S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>retains their core sound, Enemy in Mirrors promises to be a more melodic journey. Not to worry, this is still your Holdenfather<\/strong>\u2019s S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>, albeit with a touch more nuance.<\/p>\n

As Holdeneye<\/strong> described in his review of Spectral Devastation, S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>\u2019s style isn\u2019t as straightforward as it appears on the surface. They find inspiration from \u201980s speedy heavy acts like Judas Priest<\/strong> and Iron Maiden<\/strong>, only this time around, they add more melodic elements reminiscent of Bloodletter<\/strong><\/a>. The resemblance to the latter is apparent early, as the combination of speed and melodic leads gets \u201cParalysis\u201d going right out the gates. \u201cIron Wolves of War\u201d and \u201cWe Who Remain\u201d continue this streak while also including some catchy choruses that channel S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>\u2019s influences. When Carlson sings \u201cFlee! Flee in horror!\u201d on \u201cIron Wolves of War,\u201d I couldn\u2019t help but think of Dickinson\u2019s iconic chorus on \u201cRun to the Hills.\u201d Then, on the chorus of \u201cWe Who Remain,\u201d it sounds an awful lot like she\u2019s singing \u201cDefenders of the faith.\u201d S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>inject plenty of spirit into their speed, and the addition of melodic leads adds depth and a layer of infectiousness.<\/p>\n

\ufeffENEMY IN MIRRORS by Solicitor<\/a><\/p>\n

Enemy in Mirrors is not just speed, however. The record combines up-tempo velocity with mid-tempo grooves, pianos and synths that build suspense, and, of course, Carlson\u2019s formidable voice to perform songs that prove S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>to be effective storytellers. \u201cSpellbound Mist\u201d is the first to dabble in this more nuanced storytelling, beginning at a slower pace as Carlson croons and casts her spell over the listener. Then it takes a sudden turn on the back half towards furious shredding and thrash that gave me flashbacks of the twists and turns that Helms Deep<\/strong> took on Chasing the Dragon<\/a>. The final two songs similarly impress in their ability to spin a yarn, beginning with synths that create ghostly atmospheres before melodic riffs and a thrumming bass add to the enchanting soundscape. With this patient buildup, Carlson eventually gets fists pumping with well-timed vocal entrances\u2014singing \u201cI am the deceiver\u201d on \u201cBlack Magick (Part I)\u201d and throwing out a creatively pronounced \u201cOoooh yeah!\u201d on \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Hand (Part II).\u201d Both tracks end Enemy in Mirrors on a high note, showcasing S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>\u2019s maturity in songwriting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I see a parallel between S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>and Helms Deep<\/strong> in that both bands churned out longer sophomore albums than their debuts. In S\u00f6licit\u00f6r<\/strong>\u2019s case, the length isn\u2019t due to longer songs, but more of them. Unfortunately, this proves my lone gripe, as there\u2019s a slight sag in quality in the back half, which keeps Enemy in Mirrors shy of the coveted 4.\u00d6. These songs aren\u2019t lacking in the speed department, but they fail to utilize the melodic leads present on the rest of the record. \u201cFallen Angel\u201d isn\u2019t the longest cut, but it feels like it due to its more uniform structure and lack of hooks. \u201cCrimson Battle Beast\u201d begins with a classic speed intro, but the chorus comes off awkwardly and a bit silly. What these tunes do isn\u2019t necessarily bad, but they sound more bland than the rest. Whether these two, plus the other weaker track, \u201cEnemy in Mirrors,\u201d work for you or not is likely going to be a key deciding factor in how much you enjoy the album.<\/p>\n

Enemy in Mirrors is a welcome return after a five-year break, and it\u2019s a promising direction for these talented musicians. If you enjoyed the debut, you\u2019ll be happy to know S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>doesn\u2019t make any core shifts in their sound, and what they do add is a definite improvement. While we would certainly prefer beloved bands to release records more frequently, the most important thing is quality, and S\u00f6licit\u00f6r <\/strong>has quality in spades. If you like fun, if you like speedy and melodic metal, you owe it to yourself to check this out.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: 3.5\/5.0
DR<\/strong>: 6 | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: 320 kbps mp3
Label<\/strong>: Gates of Hell Records<\/a>
Website<\/strong>: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide<\/strong>: September 19th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"S\u00f6licit\u00f6r\u2019s 2020 debut made quite the splash \u2019round these parts when 4.\u00d6ldeneye heaped glorious praise all over it.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[10268,12295,147479,147480,77,147481,33693,124642,25347,52885,114333,269,6080,147482,137369,147483,78019,25989,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-434435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-3-5","9":"tag-american-metal","10":"tag-bloodletter","11":"tag-enemy-in-mirrors","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-gates-of-hell-records","14":"tag-heavy-metal","15":"tag-helms-deep","16":"tag-iron-maiden","17":"tag-judas-priest","18":"tag-melodic-metal","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-review","21":"tag-reviews-2025","22":"tag-sep25","23":"tag-solicitor","24":"tag-speed-metal","25":"tag-thrash-metal","26":"tag-uk","27":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115227242666128339","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}