ALBUM REVIEW: Mire – Conjurer

There’s hype, and then there’s hype. It’s quite extraordinary how the entity that is CONJURER has gathered momentum since the turn of the year; you can barely move on social media without another person talking about how brilliant they are. Such things can be misleading, of course, but the fact remains that the quartet from the South East Midlands are seriously hot property right now and, on March 9th, that property will get even more fierce when Mire drops, their debut album released via the might of Holy Roar Records.

It’s difficult to know where to start with this, so let’s take the classic children’s story route and go from the beginning – Choke is an unbelievable opening track. A big, slow heavy riff to introduce the album, it explodes into an extreme that meshes GOJIRA with NEUROSIS but never loses the sludgy edge that MASTODON are so known for. Almost as suddenly, it’s back to a slower tempo and then blows up once again, which is indicative of Mire as a whole; this is an unrelenting record that doesn’t give you a moment’s peace or chance to catch your breath. The segue into Hollow and doomier territories is just as impressive; there are quieter vocals from Dan Nightingale and Brady Deeprose this time around and sound incredibly distant, which adds an extra ominous edge and allows the song to build into a big, slow groove that will take your head and crush it like a foot on an empty Coke can.

Thankless, the longest track at eight-and-a-half minutes, leans more towards the aforementioned extreme metal at first but develops into a far more progressive tune combining clean guitars as bleak as its name suggests whilst Retch, in turn the shortest song on the record, condenses the power of a freight train and delivers it straight to the ears with the timing and power of a well-aimed petrol bomb and features a quite frightening masterclass on the drums by Jan Krause.

Across the second half of Mire, the title track has an odd, Twin Peaks-esque opening that leads into expansive, brilliant black metal and by now it’s very apparent why individuals struggle to put CONJURER in one specific genre; they really are a band in a class of one. This is hammered home by penultimate track Of Flesh Weaker Than Ash, its rumbling and moody middle a stark and lonely contrast to the waves crashing around the rest of the song and the record comes to its climax with Hadal; beginning with the sludge and doom elements from previous, it descends into hooks and drops so colossal you could stick them at the port to Rhodes and it would become an Ancient Wonder of the World, such is the sonic excellence on show.

Believe the hype that you see, hear and read, because Mire is a true behemoth that will be played on repeat for the next 12 years, let alone 12 months. God knows how CONJURER are going to top this, but it’s going to be a hell of a journey finding out and they’ll bring a plethora of new fans along for the ride as well.

Rating: 9/10

Mire is set for release on March 9th via Holy Roar Records.

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