(Our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber is returning to our page today with the second part of a multi-part series of reviews that we plan to run day after day until completed. You’ll find Part 1 here.)
Despite the incredible volume of music covered here at NCS, there remains a plethora of noteworthy releases yet to be shared in this space. Chalk it up to how much damn good stuff deserves the limelight and doesn’t get it because we all know this site already covers more than most as is.
As I’ve done in the past, join me for another multi-part feature that touches on music I strongly believe you should listen to—or at the very least, stuff worth checking out at a minimum. You be the judge. Onwards!
Nithing – Agonal Hymns
Now we return to the realms of brutality gone so apeshit and off the rails that trying to quantify and break it down becomes both a puzzle and a joy. Agonal Hymns dropped in June of 2023 and leans super hard into pushing a wall-of-sound approach to brutal death metal while at the same time dishing out a level of complexity and memorability that exceeds most bands working within the confines of technical brutal death metal.
Like the Paroxysm Unit album covered in the first part of this feature, Nithing does the same sort of less is more run-time thing within a supremely complex musical offering, as Agonal Hymns clocks in at a very lean 28 minutes spread across nine songs.
Much like Defeated Sanity and Wormed, Nithing exists to push boundaries as well as to explore how far they can push the idea of what separates music from just noise within the realm of punishing brutal as hell death metal. By “they,” I do mean just one person, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Matt Kilner.
Active since 2014, Nithing has had two prior releases under its belt already. The first was an EP called Fetid Reek of Interminable Existence from 2015, which I’m still a fan of. The second was a split release with Syphilic in 2020, making Agonal Hymns the band’s debut album and 3rd overall release.
It’s an unfortunate fact that the realms of brutal death metal/technical brutal death metal are littered with boring/shitty one-man acts that tickle neither imaginations, brains, nor buttholes. Thankfully, Matt Kilner is more skilled than most, and not just on drums. Agonal Hymns is some of the most accomplished technical brutal death metal I’ve ever heard, and it is just as much unhinged musically as it is coldly, calculatedly, and meticulously mapped out at all times.
The end result of this violent merger between different styles of brutal death metal makes for songs seemingly designed to ride the line between free-form chaos and final boss-level riffs and shredding in a way that intrigues me and will equally intrigue hardcore junkies of micro-niche material which this release belongs to. Solely because the music here is incredible in a way that is going to be inaccessible to a lot of people. And that’s okay. This is art on a high level for what it is though. Think Encenethrakh, because that’s one of the only other things I can compare Agonal Hymns to that feels like an accurate point of comparison with a similar mission of pushing boundaries in a well-worn sub-genre such as this.
To back up a few steps, I first heard Matt’s playing about a decade ago now for his other band Iniquitous Deeds (whom I’ve covered at NCS prior), and was mindfucked by them in a live setting when they went on tour with Defeated Sanity around the time of their last release in 2016. New material is still in the works purportedly, and I hope it sees the light of day. Without realizing it, you may also have seen Matt live elsewhere, as he’s been the live drummer for Gorgasm for a number of years now, and as I understand it, doing some live drumming or more of a role beyond just live drumming for Vitriol too.
Once again, New Standard Elite is the force behind yet another brutal death metal/technical brutal death metal gem sure to be counted among many year-end lists for fans of this style of death metal with the recent release of Nithing – Agonal Hymns, and though the scene itself hasn’t slept on this effort, the wider DM scene and most metal music writers have. Catch up on this killer album if that’s the case and you haven’t heard this yet. This one is special and well worth your time. Also, check out Iniquitous Deeds. That shit is equally amazing.
Social Media Links
https://www.facebook.com/nithingbdm
https://nithing.bandcamp.com/album/agonal-hymns
https://open.spotify.com/artist/615Q5V809wrHodCRsH3XtW
https://www.instagram.com/nithing.bdm/
Caratucay – Nocturnes of the Incarcerated
Similar to how Meshuggah reinvented metal for bands of many different genres, so too has Opeth had (and continues to have) their day in the sun in the same way as of late. Arguably, this started a long time ago with “clone” acts of the early 2000s like Farmakon from Finland (which now feels like lost Opeth albums for those who miss their heavier side), which I still suggest all the time to Opeth fans. I grew up on that music, and it arguably holds up even better now than it did when it came out. Especially their 2nd album, Robin from 2007.
We’re getting a bit derailed, which is my fault, but the point I’m circling towards is that Opeth-inspired proggy death metal spliced tech-death continues to have a “moment,” as it should. Germany’s own Caratucay belongs in that conversation with the February 2023 release of their 2nd album, Nocturnes of the Incarcerated. The band has been around since 2007 and to date, they’ve dropped two demos, an EP, and one album before the release of their sophomore album earlier this year.
In line with what I’ve stated above, the music on this quite versatile album is built on a strong Opethian prog-death foundation, both stylistically and in their long-form songwriting. Yet their proclivity for technical death metal flirtations spliced with hefty grooves and complex melodies reminds me quite a bit of acts like Monotheist (along with their fellow Monotheist-member-sharing act Lamentations as well, whose late-2022 sophomore album, Passion of Depression, released via Willowtip Records is incredible if you missed out on it before now) and Anata also.
Add in the group’s black metal/blackened death metal elements to their sound and some great clean singing to round it out, and you arrive at an end sound that, while it still seems to be in development, shows a lot of promise and is a lot of fun to listen to. The only real downside to Nocturnes Of The Incarcerated is its 68-minute run time. While there’s no single song that’s a dud, it does feel like many of the songs could have been trimmed down a bit. But there’s so much to love on every song that I keep coming back to this even if I wish it was a tad bit shorter.
As it should be for a band that’s been around a while and put in the work dropping numerous releases prior to Nocturnes of the Incarcerated, the band has delivered a very ambitious and often fantastic release this year. I’m a big fan of Nocturnes of the Incarcerated, and I bet many of you will be as well. I think what makes me the most excited about this release is that it’s another big step up for an already talented act; the difference in quality between this album and their 2017 debut album, Deranged Serenades, is very noticeable. So I strongly suspect/hope they can drop something even better moving forward.
Social Media Links
https://www.facebook.com/Caratucay
https://caratucay.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnes-of-the-incarcerated
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1mWYn05EdSpUTflwZPAAKE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrWFiQQcZfEpZ3UevOTUJg