Sounding like they have been spat from the lungs of hell by the ancient forefathers of heavy music, it is no surprise that Conjurer are already causing quite a stir on the UK metal scene. Their debut album ‘Mire’ has been three years in the making, but this stunning monolithic feast of what the band term as “post-sludge” is pushing the boundaries of extreme metal in spectacular fashion.
From the opening doom-laden riffs of ‘Choke’ and the forays into progressive thrash that ebb and flow with attacking intent, it is pretty obvious that this is no run-of-the-mill metal mash-up. As the opening track segues into the sprawling epic of ‘Hollow’, with its grindingly heavy riffs offset by atmospheric passages, it’s clear that this might just be a bit special.
This is a band that have easily mastered the layering of multiple textures, that switch up their riffs and time changes to superb effect, show restraint where necessary, add just the right amount of full on metal fury, and have, quite simply, nailed the art of writing excellent songs. Whether it’s the incredible eight and a half minutes of ‘Thankless’ that progresses through various sections, from all-out attack to the epically atmospheric, or the controlled release of ‘The Mire’, it’s all very accomplished. It’s not so much what they do, but how they do it.
Everything is delivered like seasoned professionals, which makes this debut offering all the more stunning. ‘Of Flesh Weaker Than Ash’, for instance, is just sublime. From the atmospheric intro that gives way to a blistering scream and a riff scraped out of industrial ruins, to its slow boiling sinister undertones, its another massive tune that sucks you into its dramatic nuances. It takes a special kind of talent to succeed on songs this big.
‘Hadal’ then provides a monolithic finale to round off this absolutely incredible record. You will be hard pushed to hear a classier metal release, this is quite simply a modern classic. Welcome to the future of metal.
5/5
‘Mire’ by Conjurer is released on 9th March Holy Roar Records.
Conjurer links: Facebook|Twitter|Instagram
Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)
