If Green Day's American Idiot album was a commentary on the Bush administration, Nothing More's latest album is a waspish narrative on Trump's America, corporate corruption, greed, evil, lies, injustice and the un-American way and pretty much the state of the world right now. There's no doubt that Nothing More's sixth album is purgative and as a result, the album is explosive. The stories the band want to tell like Let Em' Burn, Do You Really Want It are primarily those of scapegoating and how lies become regurgitated as facts but there's also human nightmares too. It's all powerful stuff and darkly chilling.
Lyrically many of the tracks also have a duality to them, giving them life even after the world sorts its shit out. Either way, you choose to interpret the material, Johnny Hawkins' brutal vocal jumps out and punches you straight in the face throughout the album. One of the most audibly disturbing moments is on Ripping Me Apart - when it happens it's hopelessly unexpected as he throws his voice around like a caged animal. The album is unsettling in both tonality and content but is still a terrific listen. Their anger is perfectly placed within the boundaries of melody and electo/industurial sounds. There's a feeling of Soundgarden, NIN, Gary Numan and Muse along the way too. Let's Go To War, ( as featured in The War of the Planet of the Apes movie and also reached No 1 on the Sirius Octane Chart in the USA) is a prime example of the band's ability to facilitate a heavy duty and more commercial metal sound. Still In Love follows in a similar vein, bringing out a vulnerability to their music. Nowhere is this fragility felt more than on FadeinFadeout, a stunning and heartfelt track about the loss of a parent. The grief within the song is palpable and of all the stories on the album the most painful, leaving us with the message to 'follow your heart.'
Nothing More has produced a gripping and unsettling album that's intense, formidable but deeply relatable and teaches us that even in the blackest moments there is hope.
Groupie Rating 5/5
