In the spirit of Rick James, nostalgia is a helluva drug. Each of us has our poison. Movies from our childhood, specific foods, sights or smells that bring us back to a different, seemingly simpler time. Even our politics can (unfortunately) be influenced by our individual or collective sense of nostalgia. But this piece isn’t about that. Mainly, it’s about metalcore. Of all musical stylings, there is perhaps none that bring me back to my formative years of musical development more than this sub-genre. Though I do not find myself listening to metalcore very frequently in my current album rotation, I will occasionally stumble upon an album, single, or EP that scratches that nostalgia itch. Mirrors’ debut EP Fools Paradise does just that.
Australia has developed quite the metalcore scene over the past decade, with bands such as Parkway Drive, Buried in Verona and Northlane holding down significant fan bases. Mirrors launches itself into the Australian metalcore mix with Fools Paradise, which pulls elements from some of the above bands to create a sound that serves as a synthesis of the Australian scene over the past several years. Opener “FYA” doesn’t waste any time setting the emotional tone for the EP and establishing the sonic palate that will perpetuate throughout the album: traditional metalcore groove with propulsive, breakdown-oriented passages, while also incorporating a few djent elements for those who like their chord progression deep and jagged. The following track, “Waiting”, which features Zachary Britt of Dream On, Dreamer, adds some refreshing clean vocals which compliment Patrick Goodman’s throat-shredding delivery. Single “Tie the Lace” extrapolates upon these influences with a djent-like barrage of riffs and metalcore rage, and serves as the highlight of the EP.
While Mirrors is not bringing anything especially new to the table, they know where they excel and push their music into fun, highly listenable territory. Curious to see how they build upon the template of this EP and where they go from here.
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