Back in April, the Gippsland-native shredheads in Mirrors made their debut on Resist Records with the vicious and visceral single ‘Beneath The Sand’, a classic metalcore tour de force with a blindingly bright, atmospheric-flourished chorus, monolithic drum fills and plenty of bold, bruising riffs. Today, they return with a defiant leap into new territory – a track with as much swagger as it has snarl, with a mystifying twist of emo-esque flair.
‘Leave Them Behind’ isn’t just Mirrors’ new single, though. It’s a welcoming into a whole new age for the quartet, as today also brings the announcement of their debut full-length album, The Ego’s Weight. The record is set for release on Friday October 8th – less than a week before the band embark on a career-defining run across the country with their fellow pitlords in Polaris, Make Them Suffer and Justice For The Damned.
A press release notes that ‘Leave Them Behind’ is about “the fall of morality and values while seeking to take decisive action against hate”, with vocalist Patrick Goodman writing that it “portrays the constant fight of moving away from the parts of yourself that you don’t want to be through setting positive goals instead of dwelling on anxiety and uncertainty. Everyone runs away from something, so run away from the worst in you.”
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Mirrors have given BLUNT an exclusive first look at the music video for ‘Leave Them Behind’, which shows the band tear shit up from inside a striking all-white room. The juxtaposition between the blokes themselves and the hallowed halls they play in, combined with the piercing sunlight shining through its windows, makes for an inescapably captivating visual. Take a look at the clip below, then read on for our exclusive chat with the band!
Where did the concept for this aesthetic come from?
The overall look originated from our filmmaker Ben Wrigley, but our goal was to put out something that would change everyone’s perception of the kind of band we are. No warehouses or car parks. This is a single that represents one of the bigger divergences in our sound, so we felt that the aesthetic of the clip should follow.
Congrats on today’s album announcement! As its lead single, what is it about ‘Leave Them Behind’ that you’d say makes it the best representation of this record?
To be honest, we’re not even sure this is the best representation of the record. Perhaps it demonstrates more of our alternative- and groove-focussed sound, but it certainly is a song for the masses.
For all the soon-to-be-diehard fans out there who are just discovering Mirrors today, what can they expect to hear from the rest of The Ego’s Weight?
The largest degree of diversity we could produce. There’s a focus on atmosphere and density that carries through the album, but it was important to us that we didn’t have a bunch of songs that sounded the same. It has the heaviest music we’ve ever produced, and the lightest, most sensitive work we’ve ever produced.
“Everyone was listening to anything but heavy music, so that we could focus on expanding the dynamic range to its fullest extent and develop the songs on their own merit…”
Now that you’re gearing up to unleash this beast into the wild, let’s look back at how you guys brought it to life: when you think about the making of The Ego’s Weight, what’s the moment you’re most proud of?
I think for all of us, it’s been witnessing Patrick’s evolution as a singer. A lot of the songs tend to have the bones set in place, but it’s not until the vocals are set that we really understand the picture we’re looking at. When he showed us all the new sounds and ranges that he was working with, we were overwhelmed at the possibilities that were being presented to us, and we got the first look at what the newest version of Mirrors was going to sound like. Everyone’s drive to keep growing as individual artists enabled us to pull the album in all these different directions.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making the record, and how did you overcome that?
There was this worldwide pandemic going on – that threw a bit of a spanner in the works. The writing process is more straightforward as we tend to exchange files online, but in the tracking process, there were a lot of delays. We just had to go in and record when we could.
This record marks a bit of a departure from your metalcore roots. How did you want to build your artistry with The Ego’s Weight, and what were some of the stylistic avenues you were most keen to explore?
Everything but metalcore. Which sounds kind of crass, but in short we were just focussing on avoiding what we’d already done. In the process, everyone was listening to anything but heavy music, so that we could focus on expanding the dynamic range to its fullest extent and develop the songs on their own merit. There was no fixed goal in mind, we just didn’t want to rest on our laurels or get caught up in what we thought other people might want to hear.
This record will, of course, be your longform debut on Resist Records. What made them the perfect outlet for this release, and the next chapter of the Mirrors story?
Essentially it comes down to the relationship. In our talks leading up to us joining the roster, we just knew that this was the right fit for us. We both understand our roles in all of this, what the expectations are and that this is simply about getting good music out to the world. Resist’s track record speaks for itself.
You can catch Mirrors on tour with Polaris, Make Them Suffer and Justice For The Damned this October
Wednesday October 13th
The Tivoli, Brisbane
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Thursday October 14th
The Tivoli, Brisbane
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
Friday October 15th
Reunion Park, Melbourne
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
Saturday October 16th
Metropolis, Fremantle
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
Thursday October 21st
Bridgeway Hotel, Adelaide
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Friday October 22nd
Bridgeway Hotel, Adelaide
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
Saturday October 23rd
UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
