16.06.2023 Black Mirrors

Graspop Metal Meeting

Dessel (Belgium)

The second day began in a fairly relaxed manner in the Metal Dome. On the schedule was the Belgian rock band Black Mirrors. The female‑fronted ensemble led by singer Marcella Di Troia brought along an interesting blend of rock, blues, and hard rock. In their nearly ten years of existence, however, they have only released a rather modest number of records.
So, things kicked off with the song “Snake Oil” from their most recent album “Tomorrow Will Be Without Us”, released last year. At this early hour (it was only noon), the crowd inside the tent was still quite small. A pity, really, because the Brussels‑based band was musically truly impressive. It quickly became clear during the performance that Di Troia was the focal point, while her fellow musicians guitarist Pierr Lateur, bassist Gino Capon, and last but not least drummer Edouard Cabuy, were certainly more than mere decoration, yet still acted somewhat in the background. The atmosphere was beautifully enhanced by the large LED screen on stage, whose visuals shifted between seas of flames and darker tones. With “Günter Kimmich”, the band switched halfway through the set to their second, slightly older record “Look Into The Black Mirror” from 2018. Bit by bit, more people streamed into the tent, and the mood improved by the minute. This created a dynamic interplay with the musicians, and the applause was quite substantial when the band wrapped up their roughly 40‑minute performance with the powerful track “Burning Warrior”.
Black Mirrors had not been familiar to me at first. But while listening through the festival lineup, they left such a positive impression that I added them to my list for that morning. And I was truly not disappointed. Di Troia, who knew exactly how to captivate an audience, paired with a great voice and the rock‑driven sound of her equally talented bandmates, all that was a genuinely convincing overall package. Thankfully, the tent filled up during their show, because they absolutely did not deserve to play in front of empty seats.