I came across these
Nashvillian heavy hitters by pure chance, when I was invited to a show by an
out-of-town band. On the bill was Noisecult and they blew me away from the
get-go, even more so since they proved to me that there are heavy bands in the
capital of country. As it happens I got my hands on their entire discography,
five full-lengths in all, and felt it is more than appropriate to write about
the albums chronologically. So read on, I hope you like what Noisecult are
about and get interested enough to check out their music.
End Of Days(2005)
Their self-released debut
is a raw, punkish affair mixed with a lot of Slayer especially in the vocal
department. Bassist/singer Bo Heyward's rough voice reminds me a lot of Araya
which is not a bad thing at all. The production is a bit unpolished and a bit
rushed here and there but the music is really good. More importantly, you can
tell the guys had fun recording 'End Of Days'. Founder Don Carr throws
in a lot of cool, good riffs adding a nice 70's heavy rock vibe to the overall
sound. The only downside is drummer Vinny Doody, yes that is his real last
name. He is all over the place in the faster songs but does good in the
mid-paced tracks. My favourite tracks are: 'End Of Days', 'Never Meant To
Be' and 'From The Void'.
One From None(2006, 2009)
The sophomore album, 'One
From None' saw the light of day a year after the debut and some changes had
occurred. Ben Bomlitz was the new drummer doing a much better job than his
predecessor. Another change is the production has improved. The sound is still
raw and punkish but also fuller with all instruments pushed to the right
levels. Along with all the transformations the band has gone through hints of
Slayer is still present but they have taken several steps forward in finding
the Noisecult sound. Very good stuff indeed with some excellent guitar work
from Don Carr. My favourite tracks are: 'Incinerate', 'Blood Feast Tonight',
'No Sanctuary' and 'Digital Gods'. This album was re-recorded and
re-released in 2009 with Sean Kay on bass guitar
Volume III: Vociferous(2007)
More changes within the
camp again. A new drummer appeared with the band's producer Matt McElroy
banging the skins. Going more for old
style thrash with a real sharp guitar throughout, Noisecult still retains an
air of Slayer but have added bits of doom metal and Motörhead as well. Along
with a great production '...Vociferous' surpasses everything the band
has done up to this point. They're definitely on the right path...excellent
album! My favourite tracks are: 'Into The Never', 'Swarm of The Electric
Death', 'Pretty When You Bleed', 'Just Another Blackout' and 'Disciples
Of War'.
My War My Enemy(2009)
Noisecult definitely has
come of age here. It's more metal with thrash metal undertones with the snarl
of Motörhead and the drive of AC/DC at their very best. Founder Don Carr is in
top form playing some very deft parts on the guitar. Sean Kay is the band's new
bass player with Bo focusing only on the singing. Matt McElroy and the returning Ben Bomlitz share
the drum stool to great aplomb. And staying true to their progress the
production is very good to say the least. My favourite tracks are: 'My War
My Enemy', 'Spiders Wanna Eat My Brain', 'Dante's Inferno', 'Kill-Kill-Kill'
and 'Blood Feast Tonight(re-recorded).
Psychedelic Death Trip(2012)
The most current of
Noisecult's releases and by far the best one. Everything has fallen into place
for them despite yet another line up change. Mike Liffick has replaced
longserving singer Bo while Matt McElroy once again shares the drum duties,
this time with Don Berger. Super sharp guitars with a heavy and tight rhythm
section sweeps through the songs with such ease and enjoyment. Widening their
palette Noisecult incorporates more variation and diversity in the songwriting
department, check out 'Sins Of Yesterday' and 'Innerlewd' and you
know what I mean. Still holding on to the "brutality" from their
previous albums, they have now added parts of Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Iron
Butterfly and it works wonderfully. 'Psychedelic Death Trip' is a
fantastic album that deserves more recognition. My favourite tracks are: 'Sins
oif Yesterday', 'Psychedelic Death Trip', 'Innerlewd', 'The One True God',
and 'Marching Unto Death'.
I hope I have stirred your interest enough to check
this great Nashville band out. Like many other non-country and hipster artists
in Music City, they get overlooked for the mere reason of not conforming to
"ruling" trends here. Not giving up is worthy of praise alone and to
have put out five albums of great music in the process, makes Noisecult's
journey even more impressive.
Comments