Written: 9th February 2024
With the 2017 release of their debut album - Wake Up - Modern Mimes (self-labelled as ‘future goth’) began a journey to share their fusion of soaring guitars, powerful vocals, industrial electronics and evocative lyrics. Wake Up was swiftly followed by The Gray in 2018 and subsequently Portals in 2022.
Roses in Ruins is the second standalone single (following 2023’s Heavy Heart) to be released since Portals. Beginning with dissonant electronics and mysterious background vocalisations, the opening of Roses in Ruins soon dissolves into an urgent and alliterative main riff. Technical and clipped, Ernesto Paez’s guitar guides the listener to the opening lyrics, which suggest something venomous at the core of one’s being or toxic influences that have become deeply ingrained. In your roots / The poison / Lies the snake.
There is also reference to betrayal, neglect and the loss of something once held sacred. The waking thief / Defied the sun, devotion / Aching heart and wilted leaves. Vocalist (Paez’s wife Arianie Elcida Hernandez) delivers the lyrics of the verses with a cold precision, entirely mirroring the intent behind their meaning. With a line-up completed by drummer Justin Perez – who joined in 2018 - the married duo of Paez and Hernandez see their music as therapy for themselves in dark times and as a means of cathartic release to listeners with their own personal demons.
Paez also oversees the synths and bass on the single. His forceful rhythm partnership with Justin Perez flavours the song with distinctly modern metal timbres and patterns, while his use of electronics is thoughtful, adding to the sound in key places without ever threatening to overwhelm it. During the outro of the track - which leaves the synths floating alone - there is a rapidly repeating beat, clear but further back in the mix, as if to parallel a fluttering heartbeat still locked in panic.
The choruses take a more melodic if not completely comforting approach. Roses in Ruins / I can’t seem to convince myself / Caught in the blue / I need some help. Acknowledging the need for support, Hernandez is vulnerable yet demanding. Roses in Ruins sums up the emotions of someone grappling with inner turbulence, seeking change and redemption but consumed by the negative forces within. Self-reflection and crisis of identity is another theme of Roses in Ruin. All the things that I’m not / What I wish I could be / Everything that I want / Hiding further from me. There is a sense of inadequacy and a feeling of ever growing distance between the protagonist's current self and their ideal self.
Effectively structuring the overall flow of the track, Modern Mimes have sensibly balanced the heavier technical sections, the deeply introspective lyrics and the rare moments of clarity of thought for the protagonist. Comparing the beauty of roses with the devastation of ruin, Modern Mimes have produced a track rich in metaphors of destructive balance. In the shadows / Growing / Cut me out…..Hiding further from me / Bitterness is my heart / Anger clenched through my teeth.
Back in 2016, Modern Mimes’ sound incorporated influences such as Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, Sevendust and Lacuna Coil. While elements of each of those inspirations remain, Roses in Ruins builds further on the direction taken on Portals and Heavy Heart. Modern Mimes have fully embraced their alternative heavy rock sound, while also developing their progressive and technical characteristics, leaning further into them than ever before. Darkly vibrant and uneasily compelling, Roses in Ruin will convert more to their ever developing fanbase.
Roses in Ruins is released on 16th February 2024
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