One-Way Mirror

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How great does this recipe sound: one part Soilwork, one part Mnemic, a dash of Lyzanxia, and a hint of Scarve. Combine and let simmer. Serve while scorching hot. What results from these ingredients all mixed together? The hearty five-piece known as One-Way Mirror, the supergroup comprised of members from some of the biggest (and most respected) bands in European metal today. As if they didn’t have enough on their plates with their other bands, the quintet - vocalist Guillaume Bideau (Mnemic), guitarists Franck and David Potvin (Lyzanxia), bassist Loic Colin (Scarve), and drummer Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork) - pulled together out of mutual friendship and bashed out their self-titled debut album for Metal Blade Records.

The 12 tracks of solid songwriting might be a bit of a surprise to fans of their other bands. Less experimental and more straightforward, the 12 tracks on the album are still tinged with industrial/electro flourishes and abrasive vocals, but veer more towards hard rock elements rather than extreme metal. It’s obviously a departure from what we’ve come to know from their respective other projects, yet familiarity is still rooted firmly in the seams.

With each member coming into the band with their fair share of individual accolades, it’s not surprising if One-Way Mirror were to come under heavy scrutiny. Franck Potvin recently spared some time from the band’s hectic schedule to answer a few questions to shed some light on how the band formed and where it’s heading.

Blistering.com: It sounds like the band formed because everyone seemed to enjoy hanging out together backstage at gigs and festivals. Do you find it difficult at all writing songs of such a heavy, dark content and pairing that with having fun?

Franck: Good question! To me, our songs are heavy but not so dark. As you may know, we’ve known each other for a long time now and we have a lot of fun together. It was really easy to write the songs - I mean, it was pretty natural. You know, we just play entertaining metal, which is made to make you feel you good and in the meantime to blow your ears!

Blistering.com: What’s the significance behind the name One Way Mirror?

Franck: We were looking for a band name during two years, and a lot of ridiculous names came out! The day before we sent the CDs to the different labels, David, my brother had this idea looking at cover. I really like this name because it represents several ideas, we can work on the band image with mirrors, reflections…

Blistering.com: What about “Sockracer?”

Franck: It’s a really cool song with cool lyrics! When we were doing the demos we didn’t have any lyrics, so Guillaume was singing using [his] “yogurt” vocal style, haha! We sent the CD to the manager of our other band, Lyzanxia. Her husband, Adrian, became a fan of this song because the CD was stuck in the cd player of his car, so he had to listen to this song everyday on the way of his work, haha! One day he sent us his own version of the lyrics based on what he understood of “yogurt” vocals style. The result is “Sockracer” and it became the story of a car racer who likes to party and to live on the edge. The word “Sockracer” is another way to describe the hood that you wear under your helmet in a race, a bit weird but very cool, haha!

Blistering.com: How difficult is it to find time to do work on the band since everyone seems to have other obligations?

Franck: We all play in other bands: Soilwork, Mnemic, Lyzanxia, Scarve... it’s not really easy to find the time to work on One-Way Mirror, but it’s just a matter of schedule. From now on, we have one year to promote the album and to tour. Everybody is very motivated with One-Way Mirror, which makes things easier.

Blistering.com: Was there an idea before you all started writing where you talked about the direction you wanted to take the band’s sound or was it more spontaneous in how it came about?

Franck: When Guillaume called us to form the band we didn’t really know what we wanted to do. Just playing catchy music and having fun. After 12 days in studio we had 12 songs. Everything came together really spontaneous and naturally. The only thing we said together before working on songs was to not be copycats of our other bands.

Blistering.com: And how do you feel about the end product? Are you surprised at how it turned out given the varied background of each member?

Franck: Guillaume and David produced the album and we are really satisfied with the result. We like the songs and the sound. To me, it’s a really good album because it is really honest. We have a lot of pleasure when we play these songs. Actually, this album represents the music we like!

Blistering.com: Has the priority given to this project changed at all since the release of the album and seeing how it’s fared?

Franck: When we started the band, it was a kind of a fun project, for us only. But after making the demos, a lot of our friends pushed us to do something more serious cause they were fans. Some of them rather liked One-Way Mirror [more] than our original bands! So we recorded the album and signed on Metal Blade for a worldwide release. Nowadays, One-Way Mirror is a REAL band and we’ll make it as big as possible!

Blistering.com: After promotions and touring are there future plans for the band or was this a one time collaborative effort?

Franck: Yes sure! One-Way Mirror is a real band with more albums to come! We already have some new songs ready to record.

www.myspace.com/onewaymirrorband