Album Type : Full
Length
Date Released : 31/3/2014
Label :
Relapse Records
‘Nux
Vomica’ track listing :
1). Sanity is for the Passive
12:40
2). Reeling 11:53
3). Choked at the Roots 19:48
Bio
:
Portland, OR's underground crust
miscreants NUX VOMICA unleash their Relapse Records debut and first full-length
album in over 5 years. Blending the suffocating atmospherics of doom /
sludge with the raw ferocity of black metal, punk and d-beat, NUX
VOMICA construct an organic heaviness caught somewhere between Neurosis and His
Hero Is Gone. Their self-titled LP is a 3 song, 40+ minute emotional
odyssey into the depths of human darkness. A flawless combination of epic
song structures with crushing melodies and colossal riffs with powerful
dynamics, NUX VOMICA is a truly captivating listening experience that will
appeal to fans of anything extreme.
Formed in 2003, Nux Vomica was spawned in Baltimore as a side project of Wake Up On Fire. The original idea was to have a more stripped-down crust/metal sound, getting away from the lengthy epic doom-heavy sound of WUOF. Chris Control, Tim Messing, and Just Dave shared both bands until WUOF’s demise at the end of 2004. From that point, Nux Vomica took off, releasing a 7” and touring the U.S. in 2005. The original lineup was Chris-guitar, Tim-guitar, Ben-bass,Marty-drums, and Just Dave-vocals.
Formed in 2003, Nux Vomica was spawned in Baltimore as a side project of Wake Up On Fire. The original idea was to have a more stripped-down crust/metal sound, getting away from the lengthy epic doom-heavy sound of WUOF. Chris Control, Tim Messing, and Just Dave shared both bands until WUOF’s demise at the end of 2004. From that point, Nux Vomica took off, releasing a 7” and touring the U.S. in 2005. The original lineup was Chris-guitar, Tim-guitar, Ben-bass,Marty-drums, and Just Dave-vocals.
Early 2006 saw the band
relocating to Portland OR and recruiting Zack on Drums. In 2007 they toured
with their first LP “A Civilized World,” recorded with the old lineup. The new
material being written with Zack started heading more toward the path of the
WUOF sound: songs were getting longer and more complex, and some added
percussion by Just Dave entered the mix. In 2008 Danny replaced Ben on bass,
resulting in the current lineup: Chris-Guitar, Tim-Guitar, Danny-Bass,
Zack-Drums, Just Dave-Vocals and Percussion. This is the lineup that has proven
to be the most cohesive and lasting, and the band’s new sound solidified,
blending elements of punk, dbeat, metal, doom, and other genres.
U.S. and west coast tours over
the 2007 - 2010 period saw an increasing following, helped by positive reviews
of the 2nd (double) LP “Asleep in the Ashes,” which was released in 2009 along
with a slew of split records and a 7”. They had also developed a reputation for
powerful live shows. In 2011 Nux Vomica toured Europe for the first time, and
released a new 7”, “Cycles.” That year they also started recording their 3rd
LP, self-titled “NUX VOMICA.” In 2012-2013, the band worked on more new
material, including a cover of Wake Up On Fire’s unreleased song “The Three,”
with new lyrics. They toured the west coast with these new songs in the summer
of 2012
Review
:
When
you see the words “crust” and “sludge” thrown together to describe a band, a
certain sound starts to form in your mind, but I can assure this is very
different from what you’re thinking. ‘Nux Vomica’ is a fantastic example of a
band throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and virtually everything sticks. For
a lot of bands, genre hopping is a jarring sort of experience; it’s done with
all of the subtlety of a shotgun blast to the face. For Nux Vomica, it sounds
more like they had no other choice but to transition from galloping sludge to the
melancholy crust to ethereal tremolo picking, as they do on "Sanity Is for
the Passive". Everything on 'Nux Vomica' is composed with such an
excellent flow that it’s easy to forget just how much variety they pack into
all three songs.
In
another example the second song, “Reeling”, opens by building up to a big
moment using a riffing style you might hear on a blackgaze or post metal album
before coming to an apex, which has all of the bravado and fist-pumping
heaviness of Poledouris’ ‘Conan the Barbarian’ score, only without the
orchestra. The whole thing then collapses back into the style of the opening build-up,
only now a distorted bass line leads the way and its further sweetened with a
dose of tremolo harmony. It picks up again with something right out of mid-era
Katatonia (think 'Discouraged Ones’ or ‘Tonight’s Decision’) followed by yet
another massive climactic moment driven by double bass and layered melody.
There’s
a ton going on in each song including flirtations with melodic black metal and
melodic death metal on top of everything else. In fact, there’s so much to chew
on that it’s easy to make it sound like a clusterfuck; thankfully, it's
anything but. Everything sounds natural, everything is complimentary, and it
all makes sense.
That
isn’t to say the album is perfect, though. There is one thing that I pick up on
every time I listen to this album, but it is truly a minor issue. No doubt,
this only stands out to me because I’m a fucking nut and I dwell on
insignificance. So, here we go with the negative, please hold your laughter
until I’ve finished embarrassing myself.
The
snare is dull, dry and too quiet in the mix. It’s not like the snare drum
changes much over the course of most metal albums, so it’s something that I
think about during the entirety of the album, and it’s pretty distracting.
Because of this, some of the heaviest moments on the album are weakened and
feel uneven, and some of the faster moments sound clunky because of it. It’s
not an issue at all during the quieter moments, so it really only impacts the high points of the album, which is a shame.
With
that said, if this is the kind of thing I’m pointing out while looking for
flaws in 'Nux Vomica, the album has got to be pretty fantastic, right? Of
course it is! In fact when all is said and done, I have no doubt that ‘Nux
Vomica’ will be in my Top 10 for the year, as it’s in the Top 3 as I type this.
It’s going to require some utterly amazing albums to keep this off my year end
list.
Words by :
Daniel Jackson
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