The first time I ran into Mire was about two years ago. I was looking for stuff that was at least somewhat adjacent to Gojira and a friend recommended Mire. At the time the band had an EP titled Shed which was released in 2018. For whatever reason, it seems that (mostly) all traces of it were scraped and there was a lineup change within the band. Hence, A New Found Rain is now considered the band’s debut. No worries, all the songs from Shed are basically here and they sound better, so we’re good.
I was definitely excited when I heard that there’s new material from the band and I was very much looking forward to digging into A New Found Rain. While the aforementioned Gojira parallel doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense when holding things up to scrutiny, the present riffage is somewhat of a common denominator. Everything else really couldn’t be any further apart, even though there are some vibes that feel like common ground.
Mire’s sound could be more accurately characterized as straddling between metalcore and groove metal. There are some melodic influences/elements as well as some progressive death metal ones scattered around, which makes for a more nuanced package. We’re definitely looking at the modern end of this stylistic spectrum, without any hints of throwbacks or nostalgia. I would be tempted to draw a parallel between A New Found Rain and Texas in July’s Bloodwork, or Hippotraktor's Meridian, although I’m really not sure how appropriate that is. There are some similarities, but the differences kind of outweigh said similarities.
Even though after a few listens, one could say that there’s nothing inherently remarkable or unique about A New Found Rain, to me it feels very difficult to name precisely another band that sounds the same or did kind of the same thing. The record feels like it borrows from a lot of places but, in spite of its unsuspecting initial impact, manages to stand out as unique. I think that would be the most accurate way of putting it ultimately.
I guess I could say it feels a little drawn out, but at the same time I never really felt the urge to skip any particular part of a song. Almost fifty-minute long metalcore-ish albums aren’t exactly common so that may also play into why it feels a little odd. While structurally the songs aren’t particularly innovative in any sense, they do their thing well within the set stylistic bounds, effectively using tried and tested tropes in a way that sounds modern and fresh.
The dual vocal delivery plays neatly with the percussion supported riff heavy rhythm section as well as the lead melodic lines. The grooves never end up being tiring and the few solos present are a nice flash of color, alongside other elements that aren’t exactly characteristic to these styles.
The overall demeanor of the record seems to be straightforward, in a no-frills kind of way, just straight up hitting you with what it has to say. I think it works very well in this context. The production isn’t something remarkable either, but it does its job well enough to not draw any negative attention to it. I guess I could split hairs and complain that it feels a little over compressed, but the guitar tones are very juicy and thick, the drums punch righteously, and the vocals sit well in the mix.
Definitely dig into this if you’re looking for meaty metal action that will keep you headbanging even after the music stops playing.
