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Mire

Inward/Outward

Written by: LF on 27/03/2014 18:12:08

Newcomers Mire from Montreal, Canada debuted earlier this month with the interesting album "Inward/Outward" and for fans of Tool/A Perfect Circle-inspired progressive metal, this could definitely be worth a spin.

Mire mostly sounds like fever-stricken nightmares, not in a demonic and evil way, but rather subtly making you feel like something is constantly creeping up on you. The structure of the album is really good as it moves seamlessly between long escapades with advanced and heavy guitar-riffs and more electronically infused rock-territory, at times interrupted by devious, hypnotizing interludes that especially haunt the album's second half. Still, I feel like the album could be much more dynamic with a better production. The drums in particular sound very wooden from time to time, mostly evident when they're almost on their own like in the breaks of "Complex". Songs like "Tyrannicide" and "Open Circle" however really show Mire from their best side, with their natural flow between hard-hitting, energized and complex guitar-riffs and floating, dreamy parts which make for a well-worked combination with the vocals that are still unmistakably influenced by the likes of Maynard James Keenan and Chino Moreno. The big problem with these comparisons is that vocalist J.P. Lachapelle's voice flutters a little too much for my taste at times when it's supposed to really burn through and soar with strength and this would probably not be as noticeable if their music differed just a tiny bit more from the aforementioned artists.

Still, it is a strangely gripping experience, and there are a few songs worth singling out here, like "Catalan Atlas" that grazes your ears with the sound of longing guitars and builds up nicely without ever hitting that point where the vocals fall through for me. Likewise the single "Limitless (Pt. 2)" which stands out with its more electronic and simple approach which shakes things down in a refreshing way. But what this album ultimately does for me is rekindle my love for songs like A Perfect Circle's "Breña", Deftones' "Passenger" and Tool's "The Pot", making it really hard to not switch to them during the duration of "Inward/Outward". Bottom line is that I'm left entirely intrigued to hear more from Mire, but rarely downright impressed.

Download: Tyrannicide, Limitless (Pt. 2), Catalan Atlas, Open Circle
For The Fans Of: A Perfect Circle, Tool, Deftones, Soundgarden
Listen: facebook.com/miremusic

Release Date 18.03.2014
Self-released