NOTHING MORE Album Review

CARNAL

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

Nothing More are a band who people now view as being an overnight success, but in reality they started producing music in 2003 and it took a long time for this outfit to find themselves in the position they are now in. Things only really started to happen for Nothing More after a lot of hard work and a fortuitous break at the Aftershock Festival in 2013. They had already played their main set on the first day of the festival and the band were so good that when one of the headliners suddenly pulled out they were invited back to play the bigger stage on day two. They ended up playing in front a much larger audience than they ever had before and the band finally picked up an unstoppable momentum with numerous record labels now courting them.

The band never looked back and they are now considered to be one of the major players of the Alternative Metal scene. I’ve been a fan of Nothing More for a long time and I’ve been waiting for the release of their new album ‘Carnal’ for what seems like an age. Well, it’s now arrived and I’m happy to report that it’s an absolute masterpiece. It begins with the words of Alan Watts, the famous counter culture speaker and is an album that is full of intelligence, relevance and most importantly of all it contains forty five minutes of some of the most exhilarating music I’ve heard in a long, long time. The first cut is a short intro ‘|Carnal|’ which leads into ‘House On Sand’ which is a collaboration with Eric Vanlerberghe from I Prevail. It’s an amazingly immediate and aggressive song that quickly makes you realise you are in safe hands. ‘If It Doesn’t Hurt’ takes a sharp left turn and is a short sharp punch to the gut with an awesome vocal and another massive chorus. ‘Angel Song’ is another banger and contains a guest appearance from David Draiman of Disturbed fame, while ‘Freefall’ and ‘ Blame It On The Drugs’ are both highly personal tracks that possibly refer to recent events in the Singers life that could have easily derailed the band.

‘Existential Dread’ is a complex track full of tricky arrangements and pace changes throughout, while ‘Down The River’ is a laid back huge change of pace compared to what comes before it. It’s a beautiful and wistful piece of songwriting and one that will stay long in the memory. ‘Give It Time’ is probably the most mainstream track to be heard on the album and is a sublime representation of the quality of this bands musicianship. ‘Stuck’ is a huge surprise. It’s a collaboration with Hip-Hop artist Sinizter and is a massively angry ultra heavy extreme track that still manages to retain an abundance of melody as it is a pitch perfect example of current Alternative Metal. The last full length track on the album is ‘Run For Your Life’ which clocks in at almost five minutes and it’s a suitably dreamlike finale to a truly superb album. It’s clear that Nothing More are now one of the very best in the genre and you owe it to yourself to pick up one of this years freshest and most intense albums.

BAND

Jonny Hawkins – Vocals

Mark Vollelunga – Guitar, backing vocals

Daniel Oliver – Bass, backing vocals

Ben Anderson – Drums, percussion

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1. Carnal

2. House On Sand

3. If It Doesn’t Hurt

4. Angel Song

5. Freefall

6. Blame It On The Drugs

7. Head

8. Existential Dread

9. Heart

10. Down The River

11. Give It Time

12. Sight

13. Stuck

14. Run For Your Life

15. Sound