Metal is no longer the underground rebellion it once was. From its commercial peaks in the early 2000s with the soaring hooks of Linkin Park to Knocked Loose’s Jimmy Kimmel appearance just a few months ago, the genre has entered and subsequently re-entered the public zeitgeist enough that it can no longer be truly called underground. While metal is still sonically alternative by design — heavy riffs and screamed vocals are still the genre norm — recent years have seen some of the bigger bands in the mainstream metal scene leaning further and further into pop conventions, whether it be the multi-genre trailblazers like Bring Me The Horizon or their students like Bad Omens and Sleep Token basking in newfound popularity. However, a far lesser-known French duo may be able to achieve a different sort of crossover with their surprise debut release — Mirar’s “Ascensionism.”
Mirar picked up some steam last year with their first EP, a summer release entitled “Mare” that exhibited their pummeling instrumental metal. It drummed up attention in the metal community, but in a year of packed releases and Knocked Loose reigning supreme in the headlines, it went rather unheard outside of a few niche circles. To release their debut record so quickly afterward was a bold choice, but perhaps a wise one if the intention was to capitalize on the small but mounting hype they were slowly beginning to achieve.
The band’s now established brand of hellish, relentless djent (progressive metal with intricate instrumental work and an emphasis on precision) is hardly in tune with the earworm choruses and sleek guitars of SXM Octane’s best and brightest, but Mirar’s appeal may transcend typical prog metal circles simply due to their specific brand of metal. The band’s music, although certainly aggressive, forgoes the confrontational screamed vocals that are so often a turn-off of the genre for non-fans. The band instead favors groovy, bass-heavy collisions of squalling guitars accented by ominous classical instrumentation, and, at times, tastefully incorporated electronic elements, such as the deathstep kicks “Mauvais Œil” or the echoing siren synths on “Faux-Amis.” The appeal will not be readily apparent compared to those used to pop conventions, but it may be detected by a smaller yet still sizable group: the video game community.
Mick Gordon’s soundtrack to Bethesda’s 2016 remake of the beloved first-person shooter “DOOM” has long been lauded as possessing one of the best video game soundtracks. It’s easy to see how Mirar could attract enjoyers of that soundtrack. The intro to the aforementioned “Faux-Amis” feels like one of the most obvious homages to Gordon’s work, with jagged synths rising against flurrying drums before titanic guitars arrive to drive the song into high gear. It’s not as simple as both artists making instrumental metal; Mirar specifically delves into the electro-tinged djent riffs that Mick Gordon mastered with iconic songs like “Rip & Tear,” but they push this sound even further, into hellish reaches that feel absolutely biblical, which is saying a lot given the nature of the “DOOM” universe. It’s not all indebted to Gordon, however; Mirar’s use of neoclassical elements such as glittering harpsichord and decidedly gothic piano melodies adds a sense of almost regal drama to their work, and their guitar work takes more from the recent “thall” movement (thall is a subset of djent featuring lots of complex guitar bending and harmonics that emerged from Europe in the late 2010s and early 2020s, spearheaded by acts like Vildhjarta and Humanity’s Last Breath) than Gordon’s stuttering chainsaw riffs. This makes for an ideal blend. It’s familiar enough to those who’ve played DOOM or have at least heard the soundtrack, but still incorporates enough original ideas to set themselves apart from being labeled as imitators.
It’s not just about the gamers — the band’s classical sensibilities shine through not just in the instrumental choices, but in their cinematic compositions. Many tracks are structured with mind-bending complexity — there is little in terms of repeated motifs — but the songs progress in satisfying ways that somehow make their wild approach feel remarkably cohesive. There are also moments of rest and beauty amid the chaos. Aside from interludes of droning ambiance and reflective piano, there are wondrous climaxes where the classical elements blend seamlessly into the metallic chaos and become a strangely harmonious combination, with “Èprueve’s” strikingly lovely ending being one of the better examples. The electronic elements also could help bolster the band’s fanbase with touches of hardstyle-influenced percussion and glossy yet impactful production that make this record often feel just as techno-based as it is metal. In terms of the instrumental palette, it’s still a metal record through and through, but the layering additions and biting but the crisp approach to production here make it feel almost appropriate for some sort of demented club or mind-melting rhythm game challenge. Look no further than “Failles,” which quite literally ends with a pulsing kick drum that switches out the kit for a throbbing electronic beat, or the stuttering guitars balanced over dubstep-like walls of bass on “Défiance,” one of the most EDM-indebted cuts on the record.
Perhaps the only notable complaint that could be leveraged against the record is that it can become a bit repetitive over its 49-minute runtime, but in general, the band provides enough tortured riffage and Tartarean atmosphere to keep the listener’s attention.
While it’s unlikely Mirar will become metal’s new flagship band — they are still a bit too subversive to attract any truly mainstream appeal — the crossover elements at play here serve to make them a band worth watching. It’s not uncommon to see metalheads recommending the band to non-metal fans due to their outside influences, and those in need of a fresh backing soundtrack to a hardcore gaming session will have a lot to play with here. Whether or not the band bursts out of niche obscurity or remains a gem of the underground, I expect they will continue to further push the limits of instrumental metal.
