“I’ve been overdrawn, absence veiled by attention.”
It’s been over 14 years since Volumes breakout smash, Via, released to the riotous applause of tech fans worldwide, and earned a place amongst the ranks of the all-time greats within the scene, with tracks such as “Wormholes” and “Edge of the Earth” becoming bonafide genre staples. It’s easy to see just why it resonated with people, too – it offered a slice of tech metal that felt hopeful in nature. Some lyrics centred around governmental/societal disillusionment, and some truly punishing djent riffs aside, Via felt somewhat spiritual. It was bright, deeply melodic and its core of groove felt like it carried something a little more sonically positive than the average release at the time.
Of course, a lot has changed in those 14 years. Line-up shifts, tonal shifts, personal tragedies, and a colossal upturning of the landscape of heavy music have transpired in that time, and yet through their stories peaks and valleys, Volumes remain. Of course, it’s no secret to anyone who knows me that Via was and is an incredibly important record to me and my background in heavy music – my favourite of all time to this day, in fact. That being said, as a result of my storied history with this band, I’ve certainly become acutely aware of their tendency to sometimes miss the mark a tad.
That’s not to say I don’t have the utmost respect for Volumes, but all it takes is one dive into any number of Djent Shitposting-adjacent metal forums to know that this group has been somewhat of a divisive topic since 2014’s No Sleep – whether you see that as valid discourse or not is entirely up to you. However, 2021’s Happier? was seen fairly unanimously as something of a return to form – perhaps not the very apex of Volumes’ output, but a damn sight better than its preceding records in 2017’s Different Animals and 2019’s Coming Clean. Serviceable records with surefire highlights to be sure, but ones that saw the group drift from their roots and, ultimately, miss with some unfitting and amateurish takes on more mainstream styles of metal.
That brings us to now with Mirror Touch – just over four years removed from the band’s last LP, and after a remarkably quiet period for the band, whose activity has only really just seemed to spike back up again for the first time since 2023. The rollout was also somewhat unconventional, even for them, with just one month of lead time between album announcement and release. Of course, we got an early taste back in March with rough-n-ready album opener “Sidewinder”, but otherwise this has been a fairly scarce (but snappy) campaign.
The truth is, though, that “Sidewinder” didn’t quite sell me at first. Even as a diehard for these guys, the main riff seems to be fairly lacking in pull, and despite some gnarly punch and some hefty groove at points, it seems somewhat rudimental for a group that once pushed the bounds of technicality and riff-writing in modern metal. Of course, this could be chalked up to a change in personnel, but perhaps one of the most interesting (and yet oft-overlooked) details about Mirror Touch, as well as Happier?, is the return of original guitarist/now-producer extraordinaire Dan Braunstein.
Of course, he’s not a core member of the band as he once was, but his touch and influence across both records, particularly here, is undeniable – for better and worse. The difference between these records despite his heavy hand, however, is in the overall structure, pacing and the ratio between heavy and soft – one that Volumes have continually tried to strike the correct balance in over the years.
See, whilst “Sidewinder” didn’t quite grip me at first, upon my initial listen(s) of Mirror Touch, it became quickly apparent that it didn’t really represent the overall spread of the record whatsoever. In fact, much of what’s present across Mirror Touch feels closer to Volumes’ take on a Dayseeker or Spiritbox-esque sound – both bands which Braunstein has a hand in, perhaps decidedly non-coincidentally. That’s not to entirely discredit it nor his involvement on the whole, the execution here is largely enjoyable, but it certainly feels as though the formula has been somewhat flipped on its head here versus Happier?, with the boat being pushed out in new and all-too-comfortable directions, and I’m not entirely sold on the notion.
Tracks like “Bad Habit” and “Dream”, whilst certainly fun, catchy and arguably great pop-metalcore songs on their own merits, don’t entirely feel like they needed to be Volumes songs, if that makes any sense whatsoever. It feels as though the poppier end of Happier? has been amplified and multiplied in abundance across the record, with the heavier end left somewhat on the backburner. Of course, that’s not to say Mirror Touch doesn’t have its fair share of heavy moments. Beyond “Sidewinder”, following track “Bottom Dollar” brings enough groove, bite and attitude to keep any budding djent fan occupied – especially by its colossally bouncy breakdown toward its tail end.
More pertinently, closer “Suffer On”, featuring Black Sheep Wall, stands as possibly my favourite Volumes song of this recent era, next to “Pixelate”. It’s rowdy, primal, heavy, and holds a similar linear structure to some of the band’s earliest greats across The Concept of Dreaming and Via. It feels decidedly un-poppy, and perhaps exposes the remainder of the album’s greatest weaknesses, as it provides a glimpse into what could have been had this sound been more abundant across Mirror Touch – as they’re clearly capable of pulling it off.
It also serves to expose arguably the album’s core issue – its structure. Whilst these heavier numbers bookend and serve to bolster an otherwise serviceable pop-metalcore record, what sits betwixt these moments is a bit of an ill-defined mishmash of genre tropes that, even at its best, somewhat blend together to form an amorphous blob of mainstream metal. Had some more thought gone into the pacing of Mirror Touch, perhaps its stark focus on pop-metalcore wouldn’t have stuck out so sorely, particularly in its nadirs like “California” and “Adrenaline”, but as it stands it feels as though the record has two distinct aesthetics that never feel properly realised or paced in the context of the whole package.
With all that said, even through its poppier trappings, Mirror Touch carries some serious peaks. Album focus single “S.O.A.P.” and deep cut “Stitch” are real earworms, with the former containing some killer riff work. The aforementioned “Bottom Dollar” and “Suffer On” further embody some of that primal, attitude-laden No Sleep energy that Happier? tapped so heavily into – and perhaps captures that aesthetic even stronger than previous attempts. Further, even despite my reservations, recent single “Bad Habit” is an undeniably good pop-R&B-infused metal song with a slick hook, even if it feels spiritually closer to Dayseeker than Volumes at times.
Let it be known that this all comes from a place of the deepest admiration and respect, but it’s hard to see Mirror Touch as anything other than a result of a significant crossroads for Volumes. Is this an attempt at a last hurrah from one of tech metal’s most venerated acts, or one at a ground-up rejuvenation for the group? It’s undeniable that Mirror Touch has some serious peaks throughout its runtime, but it’s also host to some of their most outwardly garish attempts at mainstream appeal that work to its detriment.
The mainstream, Braunstein-ified take on the Volumes sound certainly works, and isn’t a wholly bad shade on them in isolation, but the question of whether it was the correct move in such abundance as it is on a record whose utmost highlights tend to stray away from that sound is likely determined by your tolerance of that aesthetic. It certainly lands slightly more deftly than many of their peers’ manifestations of the style, but I’m not sold on this as the dominant aesthetic for Volumes moving forward, provided there is a forward to move to.
6/10
Mirror Touch is due for release on Friday, 12th December via Fearless Records, and you can find pre-orders for the record here.