NOTHING MORE’s name has popped up enough as support for so many artists that we already dig or as part of festivals/package tours that we should’ve investigated them in depth before now. You’d think so, right? And that’s where you’d be wrong. But as in most cases when we wait on something, an album will come along that’ll have us screaming “What were we thinking not checking this band out before now?!?!?” and in this case, CARNAL is that album.
And hells yes on concept/thematic albums. Coming from the film scoring world, we’re SUCKERS for themes in music that keep coming back and CARNAL is the kind of sonic story that does exactly that so keep those ears attuned!
“|CARNAL|” is the appetizer followed by main course after main course. In fact, think of CARNAL as a 10-course meal with the this track served as an apertif and the other interludes the perfectly placed palette cleanser here and there. “HOUSE ON SAND” is an Electro shredder mixing it up with classic Nu-Metal featuring I Prevail’s Eric V. who is nicely woven into the NOTHING MORE fabric here as Mark Vollelunga’s guitar creates a veritable barnburner in the riff department and Jonny Hawkins’ voice seamlessly transitions from a soar to a scream from verse to verse.
“IF IT DOESN’T HURT” is an epic sweeping monster of a track and, like the rest of the songs on CARNAL, demand to be heard in a live setting with the rhythmic prowess of drummer Ben Anderson and bassist Daniel Oliver creating a sturdy backbone here and throughout while “ANGEL SONG” is the perfect song for Disturbed’s David Draiman to take part in as a singular stomp from Anderson successfully sets the stage for Draiman and Hawkins to enter the ring and vocally spar with each bringing their own kind of special cadence and bombastic bark to the track. “FREEFALL” thrives off the adrenaline pumped out of the Draiman/Hawkins sonic slugfest for yet another anthem-in-the-making moment and then “BLAME IT ON THE DRUGS” keeps the momentum going on this scorcher of a track.
No album ever means to do this but you know how some records tend to meander and potentially peter out at some point? Not CARNAL! Being fans of the full album experience (You can read more on that in our upcoming interview with Vollelunga) the deeper in CARNAL one gets, the denser it gets. And it doesn’t get more dense than “EXISTENTIAL DREAD”. We live for the moment in albums where a track this far in (Currently at Track 8) hits so hard. It’s a subtle ebb and flow but then it really goes for it with this monumental wall of sound and Hawkins waxing poetic culminating in a screamed “Truth. Is. Time.” over Vollelunga’s vicious riffs and Anderson’s kaiju-sized hits with Oliver’s rumble impacting seismically all confirming that when it comes to CARNAL, that momentum ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“DOWN THE RIVER” and “GIVE IT TIME” are flip sides of the same uplifting banger with both sounding big and badass followed by the appearance of Atlanta Trap phenom Sinizster who adds a gnarly flow to the already visceral “STUCK”. And then we get to the end (Well, the soundscape of “|SOUND|” is the actual closer…) with the gargantuan slow burn of “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE” with all of NM getting a last showcase as Oliver’s bass vibrantly vibrates, Anderson’s beats are bigger than ever, Vollelunga’s shredding is subtle but stellar, and Hawkins’ vocals practically leave the atmosphere with the way they shine.
CARNAL drops on June 28th through Better Noise Music. You can pre-order or pre-save your copy now by heading here or to the stream below and for more from NOTHING MORE, including links and more for their upcoming appearance at Capulet Fest on June 30th, summer support dates with Godsmack and their own headlining run later this year with Set It Off, From Ashes To New, and Post Profit, keep in touch with them across the interwebs by following here, here, and here.
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