AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SUN OF NOTHING — “GHOST”

Metal genre labels begin to resemble scrambled eggs cooked with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes, with a sprinkling of cheeses and spices. The thought comes to mind in contemplating “experimental post blackened sludge metal”, which is how some have characterized the music of the long-lived Greek band Sun of Nothing.

But just as a flavorful breakfast scramble causes the mouth to water, Sun of Nothing‘s music is also very enticing, even though it might also make you think it’s the last meal you’ll be eating before the world ends.

Sun of Nothing is indeed long-lived, with a history that dates back to their birth in Athens in 1999, and the release of three albums between 2003 and 2010. And now a fourth one named Maze is set for release by Venerate Industries on February 16th, a long 13 years and a few months after the last one.

It’s certainly not the first time a metal band has fallen silent for such a long time, and every hiatus has its own tale. In this case, the recording of the new album was complete by the summer of 2018 but other problems delayed completion of mastering until 2020, and of course by then the pandemic was in full flourish. But now, as noted, the release date for Maze is at last imminent.

As that multi-word genre label suggests, the music pulls from different stylistic wellsprings, but for Sun of Nothing that’s not a late-stage occurrence. There’s always been an evident inclination in this band’s songwriting not to feel hemmed in by genre boundaries, but to search out the best combination of ingredients to achieve their ever-darker conceptions. The result is that none of the albums sound exactly like the others, even if through-lines can be identified.

As a sign of what we’re trying to express, we have for you today a video for an arresting song from Maze called “Ghost“. The band express the song’s meaning this way:

They have made you a ghost, a broken piece, a no feather man. But yet you are standing and screaming and fighting, even when they put you down, still you manage to continue.

In the beautifully made black and white video we follow the urban wanderings of a man past his prime, grim of face and unsteady of gait, seemingly lost in somber thoughts of the past that boil over into screams of inner wretchedness and defiance. He is as alone in the midst of bustling city life as if he were in a barren wilderness, indeed a ghost in his own shell.

The music captures and channels the haunted hopelessness and inner turmoil of this lost soul, and others like him. The feverish trill of guitars creates a searing sensation of dismal torment, while a gravel-toned bass and the gut-slugging and skull-cracking of the drums adds visceral, punishing weight. Those grooves are compulsive, but themselves follow an unpredictable path.

The vocals are even more tortured than the unnerving sizzle of the riffing and the grim siren of lower chords that resemble horns. The voice screams and then screams higher still, with shattering, throat-ruining intensity.

The lead guitar itself wails like a lost specter in the midst of the percussive tumult and broiling riffage. The music reaches even greater heights of intensity, with the drums accelerating to a battering pace and the guitars convulsing, their impact even more blistering, before the music falls away into a black pit of despair, the notes ringing and harrowing roars fading into the distance.

The song is a harrowing experience, to be sure, but also completely riveting, and it’s hard to get it out of your now-disturbed head after it ends.

The cinema-noir video was directed by Kostas Konstantinidis and Panagiotis Tsalavrettas, and produced by Napan Studio. It stars actor Giorgos Tsagarakis and features costumes and set design by Despoina Faridou.

Sun of Nothing‘s lineup on the album included Ilias Apostolakis (vocals), Giannis Panoutsopoulos (guitars and effects), Andreas Starogiannis (bass), and Dimitris Zafiropoulos (drums). The band’s current lineup sees a few changes, with Manthos Stergiou on bass and Giorgos Christoforidis on drums.

Maze was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Stelios Efentakis at Ritual studios in Athens, with additional engineering by Greg Konstantaras. The suitably dark and impressionistic cover painting was made by Ilias Apostolakis.

Venerate will release the album on gatefold 12″ vinyl, with apparel, and it’s all available for pre-order now. It’s recommended for fans of Khanate, Lord Mantis, Wolvhammer, and Take Over And Destroy.

PRE-ORDER:
https://www.venerateindustries.store/sunofnothing

SUN OF NOTHING:
https://instagram.com/sun_of_nothing_band
https://open.spotify.com/user/1tptREOJ7wVtievKgqaYhv
https://sunofnothing.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/Sun0fNothing