The Nihilistic Front

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The Nihilistic Front
General information
origin Melbourne , Australia
Genre (s) Death Doom , Industrial Metal , Funeral Doom
founding 2005
Website www.nihilisticfront.com
Founding members
Guitar, keyboard
 Gary "Gaz" Martin
Current occupation
Guitar, keyboard
 Gary "Gaz" Martin
Drums, vocals
 Chris Newell
Electric bass
 Nick Warren
Drums
 Paul Mazziotta

The Nihilistic Front is a Death Doom band founded in Melbourne in 2005 . The group refrained from advertising and appearances for years and released their music without a supporting label. Only the fourth studio album Procession to Annihiliation was released in cooperation with a record company and brought the band international fame.

history

Gary Martin, who previously played guitar with the black metal band Antichrist and the death metal bands Excarnated and Abominator , founded The Nihilistic Front in 2005 as a solo project. Martin originally strived to adapt the sound of Godflesh and Disembowelment purely instrumentally . After the first rehearsals, Martin decided to bring in a singer as he was dissatisfied with the result as a one-man instrumental project. Even before the first recordings, singer Chris Newell joined the project, who had already played with Martin on Antichrist and Excarnated. They agreed on a common musical denominator and decided not to perform live. The duo put this self-imposed abstinence from the stage into perspective a few years later.

In June 2006, The Nihilistic Front began recording their debut album, which was self-published early the following year under the title The Four Seasons in Misery . The group renounced any promotion of the album, which was marketed as a CD through small music distributors and the online service Bandcamp . The album was mostly rated positively and described as an amalgam of funeral , death and drone doom as well as "beautifully sick and blatant" sounding.

Following the debut release, the duo began recording the EP The Null Factor Law , which was originally scheduled to appear as an LP in 2007 . However, it was not published for the time being. The EP was only offered for download in 2010 via Bandcamp . Instead of the EP, The Nihilistic Front recorded the album Total Disgust for Mankind by spring 2009 , which was also self-published as a CD and marketed through the same distribution channels as the debut. The album was rarely discussed due to the lack of any advertising in its own right, but it was highly praised in the few reviews and referred to as a “masterpiece” of extreme Doom Metal .

After the appearance of Total Disgust for Mankind , Martin and Newell took a break from the band to devote themselves to other projects, only the EP The Null Factor Law was released as a download via Bandcamp. In the middle of 2011 the duo got together again to record the third studio album Apocryphal Dirge . Since The Nihilistic Front continued to forego any promotion of their music, The Null Factor Law and Apocryphal Dirge received hardly any international attention, while the few existing reviews of the band again attested a high quality and outstanding independence.

Immediately after the release of Apocryphal Dirge , the duo wrote more material. At the same time put The Nihilistic Front a first promo - compilation together and sent them to music magazines and record companies. Stu Gregg from Aesthetic Death Records , who had previously been in contact with the band and distributed some of their earlier albums, offered the group a contract. According to Martin, a cooperation with the British label for Apocryphal Dirge had already been planned, but failed due to scheduling difficulties. It was only in the cooperation with Aesthetic Death Records that the band was given the opportunity to release the album via a label without delay after production. During the advertising phase for the fourth studio album, the duo announced that they wanted to appear live for the first time. Procession to Annihiliation was released in 2013 as a fourth studio album. The album received international attention and was appropriately reviewed. Unlike previous publications, which received little attention, Procession to Annihiliation dealt with German, Dutch, Italian, Austrian, British, Finnish, Russian, American and Indian webzines, among others. The reviews of the album ranged from the designation as a "complete failure" on Vampster , to the classification as an album, which exudes "a certain charm", but is still an album "for a few days" on Amboss Mag, to high ratings as music with a "monolithic sound that has an effect from the very first moment."

After the first promotional activities by the label and interviews, The Nihilistic Front made its stage debut on April 19, 2014 at the black and death metal festival When Terror Unites in Melbourne. In order to be able to complete this half-hour gig, Martin and Newell invited drummer Paul Mazziotta from Disembowelment and Inverloch as well as bassist Nick Warren from Asbestosisis as live support. During this gig, the group only presented new, previously unpublished pieces. After the performance, the musicians decided to keep the band line-up in this form, to work together on new material and to continue to make individual appearances. After 2014, no further announcements or publications were made by the group.

Work and effect

Discography

Studio albums

  • 2006: The Four Seasons in Misery (self-published)
  • 2009: Total Disgust for Mankind (self-published)
  • 2011: Apocryphal Dirge (self-published)
  • 2013: Procession to Annihiliation (Aesthetic Death Records)

EPs

  • 2010: The Null Factor Law (download, self-published)

Compilations

  • 2012: Promo 2012 (self-published)

The work of The Nihilistic Front is viewed by critics as a closed concept. The design of the sound carriers complements the music's apocalyptic effect. According to Martin, the music and design aim at a correspondingly nihilistic and misanthropic mood. The musicians describe the experimental character of the recordings and performances as an essential aspect of the group.

It was important to Martin that the band did not exist as a “live entity ”. Even after the group's stage debut, he stated that appearances should only be performed occasionally. Martin and Newell initially rejected performances due to the experimental nature of the group, which was not reflected in rehearsed performances. Material that has already been published is concluded and of limited interest to the musicians. Accordingly, the group presented new, previously unpublished material at performances.

Martin's claim to publish the finished material as quickly as possible also stood in the way of potential collaborations with any labels due to the obligatory delay.

Origin of the pieces

Most of the instrumental part of the music is written and given by Martin. In some cases he gives recordings of finished pieces to Newell, in some cases recordings of core elements such as collections of guitar riffs , which both then work on and complete together. The final elaboration of new pieces before the recording is mostly done together. Newell and Martin rehearse the pieces in a darkened room, which puts the musicians in a claustrophobic mood. According to Martin, the darkness enables the musician to overcome his own identity and become someone else for the duration of the rehearsal. In particular, the volume of the PA system and the heat in the rehearsal room completed the experience room.

Newell is solely responsible for the group’s texts. According to Martin, Newell's texts often do not correspond to Martin's original intention when writing the music, but singing and lyrics are an integral part of the music and an important part of the desired total work of art.

Design concept

The image used to design the Procession to Annihilation album

To design the albums, the band uses black and white photographs of dilapidated buildings, which, according to Martin, correspond to the mood of the music. He also emphasizes that for him the visual component is an important part of the albums. However, no reference to the depicted locations can be made out, only the emotional impact of the images is important to him. For example, the duo used an excerpt from a picture by HD Chadwick, which shows ruins in the area of ​​Post and Grant Avenue after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 , to design the album Procession to Annihilation without corresponding information on origin. In reviews, the picture was interpreted as a depiction of warlike or terrorist destruction and also placed apocalyptically. Due to the design concept, the band does not print the texts.

Reception and influences

According to the Internet magazine Hateful Metal, this design puts the recipient in the mood for the music played by The Nihilistic Front. The duo play “rough and grueling Doom, which perfectly reproduces this apocalyptic scene.” In the spectrum of Doom Metal, the music is associated with different sub-currents, mostly with Death or Funeral Doom, often with cross-references to Industrial Metal and Drone Doom. Disembowelment and Godflesh are usually mentioned as comparable groups, and the Nihilistic Front is compared with groups such as Sunn O))) , Moss , decelerated Ufomammut , Skepticism and Tyranny to further locate the music being played .

Martin confirms the associated influence through Disembowelment and Godflesh. He also refers to other artists used for comparison and describes Moss's Cthonic Rites as the most extreme Doom album ever recorded, which is why it is "inspiring in a terrifying way" for him. In addition to Moss, the music of the early Boris and Sunn O))) first inspired him to found the band.

style

The band calls their own style Extreme Fucking Doom . In positive reviews it is attested a hypnotic as well as "absolutely dark and brutal atmosphere", this is "not just gloomy and disturbing, but also in parts very obscure and macabre" and filled with a "frightening tension." Accordingly, Procession to Annihilation as an “incredibly bleak album”, “which does not reflect the suffering of the victims, the grief and loss, but pays tribute to what is responsible for the suffering. Death, destruction, downfall. "

The guitar playing and the different voices are named as the decisive elements of the atmosphere. Martin's guitar playing is characterized by enormous distortion and sometimes fuzzy . Here, as "noisy" as well as "hypnotic" and described riffbetonte guitar use tremolo riffs and the selective use of feedback . The singing is mostly "in abysmal growls screwed," but nevertheless "variable [da], [...] the song that is predominantly very deep and monotonous now and then to curdling nagging gets out of hand." The per drum computer generated rhythm, however, is considered plain and slow, occasionally as "fragmented". The pace is seldom “tightened slightly”. According to the Amboss Mag, "small industrial-style electronic players loosen the whole thing up a bit."

literature

  • Brian Giffin: Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal . Dark Star, Katoomba 2015.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Brian Giffin: Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal . Dark Star, Katoomba 2015, p. 228 ( google.de ).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h History. The Nihilistic Front, 2014, archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; Retrieved March 3, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mike Liassides: The Nihilistic Front. Doom-Metal, January 24, 2013, archived from the original on October 10, 2017 ; accessed on March 8, 2017 .
  4. ^ A b Lucas: The Nihilistic Front: The Four Seasons in Misery. Metalstorm, May 17, 2010; archived from the original on October 10, 2017 ; accessed on March 8, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f meden: The Nihilistic Front: The Four Seasons in Misery. Carnagedeathmetal, July 11, 2007, archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 8, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e The Nihilistic Front: The Null Factor Law. Doommantia, October 13, 2010; archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 8, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Steph LE SAUX: The Nihilistic Front: Apocryphal Dirge. Temple of Perdition, October 3, 2011, archived from the original March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 8, 2017 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Luigi 'Gino' Schettino: The Nihilistic Front. Metal.it, 2013, archived from the original on September 8, 2017 ; accessed on September 8, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b c Captain Chaos: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Vampster, December 30, 2013; archived from the original on September 8, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Aceust: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Hateful Metal, November 18, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  11. ↑ a b c Markus L .: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Music reviews, July 29, 2013, archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  12. ↑ a b Raphael Päbst: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Power Metal, April 1, 2014, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  13. ↑ a b c Bart Al Foet: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. zware Metalen, October 11, 2013, archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  14. ^ Marcel H .: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Lords of Metal, 2013, accessed September 8, 2017 .
  15. ^ Luigi 'Gino' Schettino: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Metal.it, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on September 8, 2017 .
  16. ^ Mourning: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Aristocraziawebzine, December 23, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on September 8, 2017 .
  17. ↑ a b Stefan Baumgartner: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Stormbringer.at, July 29, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  18. ↑ a b c d Luke Hayhurst: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Destructive Music, December 30, 2013; Archived from the original on March 12, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  19. ↑ a b c d Pete Woods: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Ave Noctum, July 30, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  20. ^ Serpent: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. imperiumi.net, March 1, 2014, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on September 8, 2017 .
  21. ^ Sorrow: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. dark-world.ru, September 15, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on September 8, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Chaim Drishner: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Chronicles of Chaos, March 24, 2014; archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on October 5, 2017 .
  23. ^ Sean Reveron: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Cvlt Nation, July 9, 2014, archived from the original on October 5, 2017 ; accessed on October 5, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Kunal Choksi: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to annihilation. Transcending Obscurity, 2017, archived from the original on August 16, 2017 ; accessed on October 5, 2017 .
  25. ↑ a b c d e hendrik / chris: The Nihilistic Front: Procession to Annihilation. Amboss-Mag.de, February 7, 2014, archived from the original on September 8, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  26. ↑ a b First Show Announcement. The Nihilistic Front, March 24, 2014; archived from the original September 8, 2017 ; accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  27. ^ The Nihilistic Front: Extreme Fucking Doom. The Nihilistic Front, 2014, accessed October 9, 2017 .