The Mire may be a new act on the sludge metal scene, but their ranks are hardly shackled by inexperience. Featuring members from two respected bands in Bossk and Centurion these have their sludgy post-metal sound honed to a tee. Their debut EP, Volume 1, consists of only two tracks but displays a huge potential.

First track "Fears” begins like a wall of sound slowly encroaching on your ears with the guitars and rhythm section slowly grinding away, with that thick guitar sound gluing the whole thing together. The choruses are huge sounding as well, despite the clean vocals not being the strongest in the world they fit into the sections well. The outro for this track has some post-rock/metal leanings with it's big crescendo finish, which they pull off pretty well.

Second track "Wheelwalker" is my preferred track of the two, mainly as it's another giant slab of sonic heaviness with the riffs on display here coming crashing down. The clean vocals take a back seat here with the main growling vocals given rooms to snarl, and the rhythm section shines through with a solid showcase from drummer Eugene Economou.

The Mire are gearing up to release a full length album this year (called Volume 2 don't you know?) and if it follows on from what's been heard here it could be a potential album of the year. The album is available from their label's website here for free, so it'll not cost you a thing to check them out.