Astral Noize

The Sacred Dissonance is Mairu’s debut EP, following the release of their single ‘Dawn Creature’. The band have successfully lived up to the title of the EP and created something that manages to be not only dissonant but also bleak, dark and uplifting simultaneously. Amidst the organised chaos that is The Sacred Dissonance there are moments of real clarity which give the listener breathing space before the next uncompromising fuzz infused riff comes in.

Underlying each track is a wash of distortion which creates an ongoing feeling of unease throughout the EP. ‘March Amid The Howling Trees’ is most notable, featuring psychedelic and almost hypnotic rhythmic guitar not too dissimilar to Celtic Frost’s ‘A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh’. Throughout the EP there are moments when it feels like the track should become lighter and more melodic only to veer off in the entirely opposite direction and jolt the listener with even heavier riffs. When this happens Mairu change track again disarming the listener and delivering moments of complete ambience and calm before yet another punch of typical UK doom comes through.

A clear influence of bands such as Sumac and Neurosis can be heard continuously throughout the EPs playtime which itself lends an ear to a lot of the mid-90s sludge metal to which these bands owe a great deal. And whilst the influence of US bands such as Neurosis can be heard, similarities can be drawn with bands on the UK doom and post metal scene too such as Kurokuma and Ba’al. The production and musicianship as a whole is impressive and unforgiving making The Sacred Dissonance a solid debut release from end to end that’s certain to make Mairu a name to watch out for.

The Sacred Dissonance is out now and can be purchased here.

Words: Oli Hulett