Joe Hughes

MirrorBlack is a Metal band hailing from England who play METAL like a thunderbolt, HEAVY METAL indeed. The band roars like an angry lion and believe me their sound can break every kind of mirror! I’m honored to have Rod Boston, Bassist of the band, as a friend. Below you can read my interview with him and I hope you find our very rocking conversation interesting.

Hello Rod, How are you doing these days?

I’m good thank you Mohsen!

At my first question, I’d like to know the story of how your band formed? And would you introduce the band members for our readers?

Well, the band initially grew from the unearthing of some of my old demoed music dating back to the late 1980s – early 1990s…..I had several songs that were complete apart from vocals, but with all the other projects I had at that time, regretfully they got neglected for many years. I was always fond of the material – I just felt they needed the right voice. Now some of you may be aware that from 2001 – 2007 I was part of a metal band called Awaken(UK), which featured the vocal talents of one Joe Hughes. When that band split up we always had plans to get something together again, but with other musical commitments in the offing it didn’t really happen until 2009, when I happened upon the aforementioned demos, and realised that Joe would be perfect to give the music what it needed. And it just basically snowballed from there! Ontop of the stuff that had already been written, we added new songs to the catalogue, most of which that ended up on the debut CD ‘Assassin’s Reflection’. The band as it stands now comprises of Me on Bass guitar/backing vocal, Joe Hughes on Guitars/ Lead Vocals, and former Blaze Bayley drummer Larry Paterson, who joined us in August 2010.

Rod Boston at MirroBlack Rehearsal

Would you tell me about the band’s name, how did you choose MirrorBlack?

Well, that’s quite simple – it’s pinched from the title of the second Sanctuary album. I always loved the title, and thought it would be a great name for a band! So here we are! 🙂

Would you tell me about the music genres and the bands that influence your band and your music?

Well, both mine and Joe’s influences certainly show through in our writing – alot of people that expressed an opinion on MirrorBlack have commented on the multitude of Metal styles we’ve assimilated as part of our sound. Both me and Joe are very fond of bands such as Death, Carcass, Emperor, and Opeth….as well as stuff like Grand Magus, Wolf and Amon Amarth…..y’know – alot of the really good quality contemporary stuff; and then of course because I’m such an old fart(!) there are the classic influences like Pentagram, Sabbath, Rainbow(Dio era), Lizzy, UFO, Hell, Maiden, Motorhead, Priest, Budgie, yada yada! And also not forgetting the first wave of Thrash metal too……… I really do think that MirrorBlack is a reflection of all our influences, really, given flesh!! 🙂

We will soon be heading into 2012, a year that some people believe could be the end of the world, but how do you see the metal scene in 2012? Do you have any exciting plans for the band in the coming year?

We’re all doomed! HAHA! Seriously though – I think the Metal scene is in really good shape these days – miraculous really considering there’s no real cash in it unless your bleedin’ Lars Ulrich or something! 😉 The good thing is that the bands, promoters and everyone, for the most part, is doing it out of a real love for the music, and a keenness to nurture and protect the worldwide metal scene; and with the gathering strength of independent specialist festivals such as Bloodstock, Metalcamp and Wacken, the cream of the underground are able to plug their wares to a considerably large catchment, year on year. A fantastic thing, really……the metal scene really is a close community now, and i think it’s really healthy. We’re all in this together, right?? 🙂 As for our plans, I will say there is alot in the pipeline, both recorded and live……but that’s all I’m saying. hahahah! All will be revealed in due course. 🙂

Larry Paterson at MirrorBlack Rehearsal

Let’s talk about your debut album “Assassin’s Reflection”, who wrote the songs and how was the writing process? Feel free also to tell us about the album’s name and the ideas

‘Assassin’s Reflection’ really is a joint effort on mine and Joe’s part, from start to finish. Of the old demos I wrote initially, only ‘Contract’ and ‘Penance’ made it to the album. ‘This I Swear’ was one that i came up with at home in early 2010, and Joe came up with a vocal line to fit it. ‘Righteous vengeance’ was a collaberative effort, with Joe coming up with the initial arrangement, with me coming in and adding ideas to it; the same was true for ‘Eye(for an Eye)’ and ‘Reflections’. Lyrically, it can be described as a concept album of sorts….Joe and I sat down and mapped out the plotline, which for the most part Joe translated into lyrics. The album basically tells the story of a man who gets so tired of a fucked up justice system that he takes the law into his own hands and becomes a contract killer….the lyrics deal primarily with an accidental death at his own hands of an innocent, and the subsequent unravelling of his sanity. Cheery stuff – I know. hahaha!! But a great deal of fun to do, and for what it is, we are very proud of it….effectively it’s taken nearly 20 years to come out, from the initial demos – so we are very happy with it. But you should hear the stuff we are doing now…….;-)

When are you going to release another album and would it be released independently or through a record label?

We are looking seriously into recording an album this year ……. we have stacks of brand new material that we can’t wait to share with everyone!!! ‘It’ll clean your clock’ as Lemmy would say! haha!!! I’d say it will most probably be self financed, but who knows, we might get lucky!!! 🙂

Joe Hughes

What’s the biggest problem you have faced or are facing as a Heavy Metal band in 21th century?

All the same things hahaha – I think dear old Bon Scott’s lyrics to ‘It’s a Long way to the top…’ still apply these days! Money is always a worry – a second income is always needed to keep a band flying….alot of juggling things basically!! It’s tough out there for a metal band – but as I said earlier, it’s a love of the music and the lifestyle that keeps us going! I’ve been doing this in some form or another for nearly three decades now, with only marginal success to show for it thus far…..so definitely a love of metal is key!! haha

Rod, you also play in another band, Keltic Jihad, do they interfere with each other or is it easy to keep them separate?

fairly easy yeah……..we just have to be mindful about double booking dates for shows, but other than that, it’s fine! 🙂 It can get hellishly busy, but i prefer it that way – really gets the creative juices flowing! 🙂

What are your plans for the future and how do you see MirrorBlack in next 10 years?

Well seeing as we’re in it for the sheer enjoyment of doing it (I’m a bit long in the tooth to expect mega stardom at my age!!haha) , we’ll be there doing it for as long as it’s fulfilling for us. I personally will be performing Metal until I keel over, probably from a colossal prolapse, brought on by all those bottom end notes and too much real ale. HAHA

I know that Bloodstock Open Air is your favorite festival, but can you tell me the reason and when you think we will see you on the BOA stage?

hahaha well we’ll see, right? I would love MB to play Bloodstock – I think we have something vibrant and valuable enough to whet the appetite of a typical Bloodstocker!! I have actually played Bloodstock 3 times myself, once with Awaken(UK) in 2006, then in 2008 with Keltic Jihad, and then last summer with our Dio tribute band ‘The Last in LIne’…..it’s a wonderful festival, with the best possible crew and staff out there. I’ve been attending Bloodstock solidly since the very beginning in 2001, and it’s been a real pleasure watching it grow steadily into the Metal colossus it is now!

Thanks Rod for giving me your time, As the final word, feel free to send a message to your fans and our readers…

Well, basically keep it true and real. We all feel truly humbled by the response we’ve had thus far……I genuinely believe that the best times for MirrorBlack still lie ahead. Thanks so much to everybody reading this for their support – all going to plan we will see some of you on the road in 2012!! Thanks also to you Mohsen – it’s folk like you that make the metal scene as prolific and healthy as it is today! Cheers!

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Interview by Mohsen Fayyazi