When most people talk about or bring up Royal Hunt in a conversation, their 1997 album Paradox and vocalist D.C. Cooper are ultimately going to be uttered within the same sentence. It shouldn't come of much of a surprise that Paradox was my first encounter with Royal Hunt, but the real surprise, at least for me, is the band was already churning out excellent tunes prior to 1997 and the addition of D.C. Cooper.After listening and absolutely falling in love with Paradox (OK, love might be a little to strong of an adjective) I did what I do with any newly discovered band that I like, explore the rest of the band's material/works. I'm glad I did, cause I found a masterpiece hidden in the depths of time.Clown in the Mirror doesn't have the advantage of being the band's crowning achivement (a title held by Paradox) or containing the excellent vocals of D.C. Cooper, but none of that really matters. While vocalist Henrik Brockmann is no D.C. Cooper or John West, he does an awesome job of bringing the material on Clown to life for the listener, as does the rest of the band. Songs such as the opener "Wasted Time" just ooze so much class it's unbelievible. Follow this up with the emotional power-ballad "Clown in the Mirror", the savage guitar riffs found in "Legion of the Damned", and the one of the best album closing songs ever in the form of "Epilogue," you just know this album was ahead of it's time.The other thing that impressess me about Clown in the Mirror is the clarity of the backing vocals, considering the album's age and production, which is just good enough to get the job done well.While I would suggest anyone interested in purchasing Clown in the Mirror to listen to it before purchasing it (due to the hefty price tag), I'd honestly recommend this album to fans of pre-Kotipelto Stratovarius, especially if they like the Strat album Dreamspace (my personal fav). As for me, I've already cashed my ticket for this wonderful album lost in the flow of time.