Nothnegal

Monday, 16 January 2012 14:41

Nothnegal

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Band: Nothnegal
Album: Decadence
Label: Season Of Mist
Tracks: 8
Release Date: January 20th
Length: 40' 45'' Riff Score: 5.5/10 How are scores attributed? The newly arrived Nothnegal are releasing their debut album on French label Season Of Mist, bringing with them more than the sunny beaches of their native country, the Maldives. Armed with a sci-fi approach on melodeath they intend to prove that metal can come from anywhere.

This is a relatively recent band in the global metal spectrum, and I'll be damned if metal bands don't spring from just about every conceivable place! When you think of the little set of islands composing this country you can't but indulge your thoughts in the sandy beaches and crystal clear waters of the Indic ocean bathing them. This group of youngsters intends on breaking that reasoning and changing their country's panorama by proving that even such a small place can have an international metal act. Armed with this will to endure they've released their first work independently in 2009, the Antidote Of Realism EP, which featured four tracks. Now with the aid of two heavyweights, those being Marco Sneck and Kevin Talley from Kalmah and Misery Index fame to name only a few, they deliver their debut album by the name of Decadence.

If age and constantly being in touch with the metal scene have taught me anything, that was to continuously approach every newfound record with a pinch of salt and an open mind. I can't expect a band from a country with a little or inexistent metal scene to jump at me with the best record ever, and frankly I?ve come to realize that reality is much crueler. Nevertheless there are times where given the lack of influences on said country and its bands, something great or unusual and unique will come along and creep out from such place, leaving most people astonished as to how that came to happen. It has happened in the past and it's bound to happen again. So are Nothnegal a band that breaks the mold or just another conformist act? As in everything in life the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

At first sight Decadence is a simple take on modern melodeath, incorporating some outside elements like sci-fi sounding keyboards that intend on giving it a more spacey and mechanized atmosphere, or even some grooving rhythms and lead guitars reminiscent of Nevermore. At plain sight their music is quite insipid and tasteless and frankly nothing new or out of the ordinary. Further listens end up proving that not everything is as it seems, and some of the initially absent complexity begins to show itself and catch your attention. The keyboard layering that at first seems like more of the same is actual quite interesting to hear and the constant nods to sci-fi spacey sounds, bordering at points on industrial touches, make for some interesting moments like on "Janus" or "Decadence".

The guitars which seem simple and only chugging along most of the time actually pack some interesting riffs and a good groove with them, although they do leave somewhat to be desired in the lead department that ends up being rather simplistic when it could have been more elaborate. Songs like "Salvation", "Claymore" and "Armageddon" are all good examples of effective riffing from this collective. The bass work is sadly and as in many metal albums quite absent, being only a pure rhythm instrument with no space at all to shine.

The drum department, courtesy of Kevin Talley, is what leaves me more unimpressed here to be honest. The guy is a very talented and skillful player and he can blast or rapidly alternate between snare-cymbal-bass drum quite easily and at speeds normal players would kill to be able to play. Those who've listened to his work in Misery Index know what I'm talking about as the guy can keep a steady beat as much as grind away in relentless fury. Here though he feels too restrained, doing nothing more than keeping a steady grooving mid-paced rhythm and adding only the occasional double bass pattern here and there. And frankly it's a shame to see Kevin playing like this when he could've been given much more freedom to indulge in more elaborate rhythms.

The album is pretty much consistent throughout its entirety, with the exception of the last couple of tracks where all of a sudden the vocalist starts using clean singing instead of growling. And just like that we end up with two tracks out of eight that seem uncharacteristic and totally out of place in this album. If they had mixed them in the middle of the album it could've worked out, but presented as they are it just doesn't work and they end up sounding very weak and forced.

Judging this album with an open mind makes me think that some things are actually enjoyable in it, whereas a not so open mind would've just trashed it as something marginally better than modern day In Flames. The problem with this record is that while having some points of interest in individual sections or instruments, the whole set doesn't glue together very well, instead making it a mediocre album that is hardly offensive but that doesn't bring anything new to the table. The last couple of tracks really drag the album through the mud and that alone makes me lower the score a bit since they're completely disparate from the remaining compositions. If Nothnegal are actually serious on breaking through into the worldwide metal scene then they should really do something more consistent and enjoyable than this. They should learn from their mistakes and come back with a sophomore that's more intricate and better written. For the time being Decadence fails to impress me and unless they improve a lot in the next few years I don't see them catching that much attention.

Review by Júlio Valada