Nasum "Helvete" CD
[Relapse]
Fuck yeah... Nasum's back with another ripping dose of ferocious grindcore, this time throwing down 22 tracks in about 35 minutes. For the most part this is the Nasum you've grown to love, and it pretty much picks up where "Human 2.0" left off, though this record is definitely pushing out into new territory (mainly by adding in a lot more vocal tradeoffs and variety). There are also some guest appearances, some of which add to the aforementioned vocal fluctuation. The bass on "Drop Dead" and "Whip" comes compliments of Napalm Death's Shane Embury, additional low vocals are laid down by original Nasum vocalist/drummer Rickard Alriksson and Jörgen Sandström (ex-Grave, Entombed, The Project Hate MCMXCIX), and there are some additional guitars on "Just Another Hog" by Petter Freed (2 Ton Predator, The Project Hate MCMXCIX). Aside from that there seems to be more of a focus on exploring different rhythmic approaches this time out, rather than simply alternating between fast parts and slow parts. There are some chord progressions that are a bit simple and overly groove laden for me (and many others, I'm sure) to really handle (see "I Hate People"), but thankfully they keep that stuff to a minimum, and for me it's a fair tradeoff for some of the great melody and stuff they're tossing in. "Stormshield" introduces some melodic riffing and distorted guitars layered with subtle clean guitars that makes for a more interesting flow, "Relics" has some sludgy post-hardcore type riffing that throws in some great melodic twists and forceful drumming to accentuate the heavier rhythms, and "The Final Sleep" is slower and almost doomy to some degree, but holy shit... it's fucking awesome. Everything about the song is perfect, straight down to the quiet and pseudo spacey clean breaks with samples and noise way off in the distance. But fear not, there are plenty of straight ahead rippers like "Violation", "Drop Dead", and "Whip" (among others)... so you won't be disappointed. As for the production? The bass tone is fucking monolithic and what every band should strive for, the drums sound nice and natural without any raw distortion, the guitars are heavy and well textured, and the vocals are totally fierce. I might mix the vocals back in with the music ever so slightly more, but other than that I don't think I'd touch anything. The bass can get lost at times since everything's so distorted, but it still beefs up the low-end perfectly... there's probably not much that can be done to draw more attention to the bass playing without muddying up the mix. The artwork is fucking awesome on this thing. The colors are great, the textures are filthy and appropriate, I love the detailed layering and blending of imagery, etc. Everything is totally consistent. The only thing I don't like, or that I wish was different (hey, I'm nitpicky), is that the font used inside the booklet is too large and bulky, so it detracts from the background textures and becomes a bit busy. It's easy to read, but it's almost hard on the eyes as a result of it's bold and easily legible size. No big deal, but a tighter, smaller choice would have worked out much better and saved some space for artwork in the booklet. I love the lyrics, which tackle everything from racism and sexism to the fucked up state of the world and then some. "Start the fire, you're an arsonist old man, Let your fire rain on them, a part of your sick master plan, Kill all the enemies, make yourself a god, Then you rest, your work is done, salute your victory with blood, At best we think that this is just a mild form of oppression, But this is it, this is the big one, the sickest of obsessions." I can't say I like this record quite as much as "Human 2.0", but it's a damn close call. Damn close. In some ways this record is way better, but there are some weak tracks that hold it back... Nasum's still one of the finest grind bands out there right now, though. If they keep pushing forward and shed the unnecessary influences as they refine their approach, they'll blow everything else they've done out of the water. (8/10)
Running time - 35:04, Tracks: 22
[Notable tracks: Scoop, Stormshield, Relics, Drop Dead, The Final Sleep, The Everlasting Shame, Whip]
Relapse Records - http://www.relapse.com

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