Mirror Reaper

Shortly before Mirror Reaper's recording began, drummer and cofounder Adrian Guerra left the band due to health concerns and was replaced by Jesse Shreibman on drums.[3] Guerra died not long after departing from Bell Witch.[4] When news of the death reached the group, Mirror Reaper's tone shifted. About the passing of Guerra, Mirror Reaper's press release said:

"During the writing process we were devastated by the loss of our dear friend and former drummer, Adrian Guerra. In love and respect to his memory, we reserved an important yet brief section in the song for him that features unused vocal tracks from our last album. This specific movement serves as a conceptual turn in the piece, or point of reflection. We believe he would be proud of it as well."[5]

Mirror Reaper's artwork, a painting titled "Essence of Freedom" by Polish artist Mariusz Lewandowski,[6] strongly resembles the works of Zdzisław Beksiński, who is Lewandowski's primary inspiration.[7] Live performances in support of the album were often accompanied by a narrative–visual collage created by Seattle artist Taylor Bednarz. The backing footage comprised dozens of archival films that progressed like a dream sequence alongside the performance.[8]

Mirror Reaper was conceived as a single 80+ minute song.[5] Due to CD and vinyl time limitations, the track was divided on those releases,[9][10] but its initial, singular form is retained on the album's digital version. Musically, Mirror Reaper is an extended composition focused on a fittingly gloomy mood.[11] Unlike most metal albums, guitar isn't present; instead, the album is composed of bass, drums, vocals, and occasionally a Hammond organ.[12]

As a protracted, single-song epic, Mirror Reaper is accordingly slow and guttural.[13] Bassist and cofounding member Dylan Desmond employs his instrument as the driving force of the music, often playing atypical high parts.[13] Bell Witch's new drummer, Jesse Shreibman, provides death growl vocals, while Desmond's singing is clean.[13] Halfway through the album, in a section titled "The Words of the Dead", vocals from former drummer Adrian Guerra appear, having been recorded and cut from the band's previous album.[11] Mirror Reaper closes with a section featuring guest vocals from Erik Moggridge, ending somberly and gently.[13]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	A-[11]
Exclaim!	8/10[14]
Pitchfork	8/10[13]
PopMatters	[12]
Sputnikmusic	2.9/5[15]

Mirror Reaper was met with critical acclaim. The album received an average score of 85/100 from 6 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[1] In his Exclaim! review for the album, Cole Firth wrote, "Mirror Reaper is certainly an outstanding accomplishment in the Bell Witch catalogue. It may be their most emotionally stirring and musically ambitious record to date."[14] Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork said, "Mourning overwhelms the mourner; it often feels as though it is the whole world. Mirror Reaper simulates that totality of grief, but it also transcends its own function as a eulogy."[13] Writing for PopMatters, Thomas Britt praised the meaningfulness of the song's protracted length, saying, "The concluding impression, through repeated listens, is that Mirror Reaper is appropriately scaled to its subject and stakes [...] Implicitly, the record poses the question: If this hour-plus feels long, what must forever feel like?"[2]

Mirror Reaper appeared on many publications' year-end lists.

Bell Witch

• Dylan Desmond – vocals, bass
• Jesse Shreibman – vocals, percussion, organ
• Adrian Guerra – additional vocals ("The Words of the Dead")

Additional personnel

• Billy Anderson – production, engineering, mixing
• Erik Moggridge – additional vocals
• Justin Weis – mastering
• Mariusz Lewandowski – artwork
• Taylor Bednarz – live video, film