Nomasta keeps its debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those moments of elegant song writing counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that are just timeless metal. "House Of The Tiger King" gets you hyped for whatever chapter two becomes.
"House of the Tiger King" DD track listing:
1. Death Rattles
2. The Book Burners
3. Sir Impaler
4. Alchematic
5. House Of The Tiger King
6. This Trail Got The Best Of Us
7. At The Mercy Of Sleep
8. Hard As A Coffin Nail
9. Dawnbreaker
The Review:
Everyone says they can merge lots of styles. Far too much of the time, it is super awkward business or feels inferential. Many groups suggest they can make their many inspirations work as well as a Mastodon or Converge do. Nope. They end up sounding like Mastodonor Convergecover bands doing original music of vacillating quality instead. No need to name names. You can fill in the blanks there.
A new Leeds trio, Nomasta have had several iterations in its life. Formed from the ashes of Canaya, with Owen Wilson on guitars and vocals and Andy Richards (formerly of alternative metal act Nerve Engine) on drums, Canaya’sdissolution saw the entry of Kris Allen on bass. With that, Nomastawas born. It steps into the pocket of many sounds. The young three-piece does so with an aptitude beyond its years.
Billed as a thrash band with doom elements, you will most likely catch hardcore, progressive and sludge influences throughout "House of the Tiger King," the band's debut album. And what a journey it is.
The recording begins with "Death Rattles," which is a perfect introduction to a distinctive sound. Solid thrash synthesized with psychedelic and progressive essentials make this a worthy representation of Nomasta's vision. Though only two minutes, the cut's napalm spray of guitars and vocals are searing. It is a ferocious scene setter for "The Book Burners," which rips through with melodic thrash. The riffs are withering. The vocals are coarse. And here is where Nomasta also proves impressive: track selection comes in with a high musical IQ. "Sir Impaler" continues the onslaught, while introducing dashes of prog and hardcore, which flow exceedingly well into "Alchematic" one of the proggier cuts. It goes on more of a thrash jag two minutes in, but remains steady in that early tone, carried throughout.
The title track leads you into the second half of "House of the Tiger King." Here, the music picks up the pace with a driving rhythm section and vocals riding the crest of big riffs. The band's players have much experience beyond Canaya, and that experience seems evident as the mood cascades from heavy chords, into more smooth musical transitions. "This Trail Got The Best Of Us" sees Nomastaget darker and even denser in its thrash, while songs like "Mercy of Sleep" and "Hard As A Coffin Nail" rain down hell in the form of demonic percussion and forceful lyricism.
Nomasta keeps its debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those moments of elegant songwriting counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that are just timeless metal. "House Of The Tiger King" gets you hyped for whatever chapter two becomes.
From the ashes of SLUDGELORD favourites Canaya, step forth a brand new 3 piece conjuring up their own malevolent blend of noise magic. 'With the metallic edge of Mastodon and Gojira, mixed with the punishing tones of High On Fire and Kvelertak', Leeds based Nomasta infuse doom laden thrash amidst bursts of elephantine riffs and dancing time signatures, creating a new blend of sonic brutality for discerning metal fans.
Today at THE SLUDGELORD, it gives us great pleasure to premiere brand new music, in the form of “This Trail Got The Best Of Us'taken from Nomasta'sforthcoming record 'House of the Tiger King', set to be released November 3rd. Owen Wilson (Guitars, vocals) had the following to say about the track, which you can also stream below
“This Trail Got The Best Of Us' is a real nasty piece of work, in the most metal way! Musically it is an ode to the extreme music scene I was introduced to when I moved to Leeds in 2004, and to the friends I made along the way. Lyrically the song is about understanding how all things can come to an end. It can take huge amounts of mental strength and humility to detach from a situation and regardless of our personal investment, to accept failure and begin starting a fresh can often be the best avenue to pursue.
Hi, you wanna know about us?
