Summary
Mirror Full of Bastards belongs to the same broad field as Empty Reflection and Symmetry Of Rage, but Alex handles it differently: not by mapping symmetry carefully, but by jamming the recognition into your face. The mirror does not produce healing insight. It produces disgust. That makes the title exactly right for Alex Steel: the revelation is true and still contemptuous.
Lyrics e
Pick a side
Good
Now watch it rot
They’re all liars
They’re all sheep
They don’t think
They only bleat
They hate truth
They love chains
They’re the reason
Nothing changes
They’re all liars
They’re all sheep
They don’t think
They only screech
They hate truth
They love chains
They’re the reason
Nothing changes
Beautiful
Same tiny song
Different badge on the moron
Mirror full of bastards
Mirror full of saints
Everybody’s holy
When the other side ain’t
Mirror full of bastards
Grinning through the cracks
You point at the monster
And it points right back
They’re brainwashed
They’re bought
They’re trained to repeat
They’ve got one thought
And dead little feet
They don’t argue
They infect
They don’t deserve
An ounce of respect
They’re brainwashed
They’re bought
They’re trained to repeat
They’ve got one thought
And dead little feet
They don’t argue
They infect
They don’t deserve
An ounce of respect
There it is
Two tribes
One toilet flush
Your enemy’s easy
Your mirror is hard
So you paint him with horns
And you pose in the shards
You call that courage
I call it cheap
You built a whole self
Out of who you won’t be
Mirror full of bastards
Mirror full of saints
Everybody’s holy
When the other side ain’t
Mirror full of bastards
Grinning through the cracks
You point at the monster
And it points right back
You love your hatred bite-sized
Clean little packet of spit
A face you can sneer at
A name you can hit
World too big?
Make it a tribe
Person too hard?
Make it a side
You don’t want truth
You want a target
You don’t want thought
You want a market
You don’t want peace
You want a mirror
With an ugly face
So yours looks clearer
No, don’t look insulted
You begged for a villain and got a reflection
You wanted a devil small enough to kick
So you made one
Then it learned your voice
That’s the joke
That’s the whole stupid church
They’re the sickness
They’re the sickness
They’re the filth
They’re the filth
They’re not people
They’re not people
Good
Now kiss!
Mirror full of bastards
Mirror full of saints
Everybody’s holy
When the other side ain’t
Mirror full of bastards
Grinning through the cracks
You point at the monster
And it points right back
For the long ugly version, see "Empty Reflection"
For the part where it hits back, see "Symmetry of Rage"
History
This was part of the album's active slate with explicit concern about how to avoid flattening it into neat both-sides theatre. Its eventual strength lies in refusing elegance: the symmetry is there, but Alex refuses to make it sound civilised.
Meaning
The song is about mirrored corruption without moral uplift. It shows that recognising yourself in your enemy does not necessarily make you wiser; it may simply make the whole field look more damned.
