Nothingface
““Violence””
(TVT Records)
Loud and edgy. Often very metal with guitars that shred up some speedy rhythms. There’s a slight Dope feel to this, but when the signer screams, he sounds a lot like Corey from Slipknot. He can do a more melodic vocal presence but is stronger with the screams. Slight melding of say earlier Soundgarden rock guitars with a more metal vibe dominating. Nothingface are best when they find this middle ground between totally almost death metal grating speed but lay it against sections of almost radio rock melody. Often songs have a few unexpected breakdowns which keep the structures from getting repetitive. The more listens this gets, the more subtleties are revealed in how they put a song together. The sound isn’t so unique as much as how Nothingface work with the heavy against the more accessible (but stick mostly to the pummel and shout ideal). Respect them metal skip guitars that spent some time honing on Pantera and old school Metallica chops. Maybe that’s where Nothingface is succeeding in creating their own niche of sound. “For All The Sin” caught me off guard when the Quicksand influence showed its face with additional breaks into an acoustic movement to add some more range. It’s rare to hear such obvious starting points translating like a new sound. Nothingface’s “Violence” displays an evolution of heavy guitar metal with touch points to the two decades and somehow constructing a contemporary new direction in the sound.
