Freebutt, 14th September 2008

The Freebutt was like a glass half empty when Mirimar Disaster came to play their version of heavy metal, on what was the last stop of their tour. With pointy guitars and silly facial hair, they certainly looked the part, but could they play?

All of the songs played were from their debut album ‘Volumes’ and they started things off with a song entitled ‘Alms For Strangers’. When I stood there listening to them an array of metal bands from the ’90s entered my head: (huge) elements of Machine Head, Skinlab and an old Swedish metal band called Mary Beats Jane were obvious in their music. The crowd seemed very reluctant to let go, a trend it seems at many (not-very-exciting) underground metal shows. But in fairness to the band they soldiered on and showed everyone that they’re a tight and professional outfit. I don’t know where everyone was hiding, but by the third song the Freebutt was starting to look like there was actually a gig going on there.

Mirimar Disaster aren’t going to rock your world by any stretch of the imagination. There are plenty of metal bands around at the moment and while Mirimar Disaster aren’t necessarily the worst they are nowhere near the best. These guys will no doubt keep popping up at the odd gig now and again opening up for an American band that probably aren’t any better than them but have a semi-large following because a song of theirs appeared on a skateboarding game – or some guy from Slipknot who wears a pig mask wears their t-shirt.

I would recommend this band to a kid who has never heard a metal band before and it’s unfortunate that Mirimar Disaster weren’t born 10 or 15 years earlier because does the world really need a metal band that sounds like it’s from 1994 in 2008? The answer is no.

Words by Mo Mostowfi