By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date
Released:
03/11/2017
Label: Independent
Nomasta keeps
its debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those
moments of elegant song writing counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that
are just timeless metal. "House Of The Tiger King" gets you hyped for
whatever chapter two becomes.
"House of the Tiger King" DD track listing:
1.
Death Rattles
2.
The Book Burners
3.
Sir Impaler
4.
Alchematic
5.
House Of The Tiger King
6.
This Trail Got The Best Of Us
7.
At The Mercy Of Sleep
8.
Hard As A Coffin Nail
9.
Dawnbreaker
The Review:
Everyone
says they can merge lots of styles. Far too much of the time, it is super
awkward business or feels inferential. Many groups suggest they can make their
many inspirations work as well as a Mastodon or Converge do. Nope. They end up
sounding like Mastodon
or Converge
cover bands doing original music of vacillating quality instead. No need to
name names. You can fill in the blanks there.
A
new Leeds trio, Nomasta have had several
iterations in its life. Formed from the ashes of Canaya, with Owen Wilson on
guitars and vocals and Andy Richards (formerly of alternative metal act Nerve Engine)
on drums, Canaya’s
dissolution saw the entry of Kris Allen on bass. With that, Nomasta
was born. It steps into the pocket of many sounds. The young three-piece does so
with an aptitude beyond its years.
Billed
as a thrash band with doom elements, you will most likely catch hardcore,
progressive and sludge influences throughout "House of the Tiger King," the band's debut album. And what a
journey it is.
The
recording begins with "Death
Rattles," which is a perfect introduction to a distinctive sound.
Solid thrash synthesized with psychedelic and progressive essentials make this
a worthy representation of Nomasta's vision. Though only two minutes, the
cut's napalm spray of guitars and vocals are searing. It is a ferocious scene
setter for "The Book Burners,"
which rips through with melodic thrash. The riffs are withering. The vocals are
coarse. And here is where Nomasta also proves impressive: track
selection comes in with a high musical IQ. "Sir Impaler" continues the onslaught, while introducing dashes
of prog and hardcore, which flow exceedingly well into "Alchematic" one of the proggier
cuts. It goes on more of a thrash jag two minutes in, but remains steady in that
early tone, carried throughout.
The
title track leads you into the second half of "House of the Tiger King." Here, the music picks up the pace
with a driving rhythm section and vocals riding the crest of big riffs. The
band's players have much experience beyond Canaya, and that experience seems evident as
the mood cascades from heavy chords, into more smooth musical transitions.
"This Trail Got The Best Of Us"
sees Nomasta
get darker and even denser in its thrash, while songs like "Mercy of Sleep" and "Hard As A Coffin Nail" rain down
hell in the form of demonic percussion and forceful lyricism.
Nomasta keeps its
debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those
moments of elegant songwriting counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that
are just timeless metal. "House Of
The Tiger King" gets you hyped for whatever chapter two becomes.
"House of the Tiger
King"
is available here:
