Mithras

For a band consisting of just two guys, Mithras are one of the most powerful-sounding heavy acts making music today. Their new EP, Time Never Lasts, which is largely an extended teaser trailer for their forthcoming 2012 album, is a perfect display of this fact, featuring two punishing new tracks and three gargantuan live tunes. The new stuff is exactly what you'd want from Mithras: thick, punishing, extreme riffs that journey into prog territory. Title track "Time Never Lasts" is a spacey number machine-gunning blast beats over rhythmic soloing. Don't be fooled though: this track has all the force of a tsunami. "Inside the Godmind" is a blacker offering, speeding through dark, incomprehensible shredding before dropping into a breakdown that sounds like it's played on rusty barbed wire and which could put the most badass California metalcore to shame. Live tracks "Tomb of Kings," "Wrath of God" and "Beyond the Eyes of Man" demonstrate that Mithras are just as good on stage as in the studio. If Time Never Lasts is any indication of what Mithras have been up to since their last release, there's a great deal to look forward to.