Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
U.K. metal with tinges of southern groove and sludge is a nice segue into this delivery on Manchester’s NOMAD and their first full-length, ‘Feral‘.
The album will arrive from APF Records on May 31st and finds the Brit quartet – Drian Nash (Vocals), Lewis Atkinson (Guitar), John Carberry (Bass), and Hayley McIntyre (Drums) – making quite the mark with this ultra-solid outing.
NOMAD rampage right out of the gate with the chunk of the mid-tempo “Curse Of The Sun“, a punchy, pummeling track with killer guitars and aggressive vocals. A bit post-hardcore at times, other times a bit reminiscent of NOLA sludge ala early Crowbar.
This unit keeps things treading heavily on the aggro side of things with other knock-out numbers like the “Feral” title track, “Swarm“, and the blisteringly savage “The War Is Never Over“.
The first melodic break in the album arrives with the intro to the nearly nine-minute “Culture Of Ruin“. That sedate, tranquil acoustic start is soon obliterated by the intrusion of adrenaline-pumping riffs and pulverizing drums. Before all is sung and done, this is decidedly a remarkable, stand-out song.
“Feed” is one of the more uptempo cuts, quick and intense, it pulls us through the mire. Taking us along for the ride, it goes through some moderately thrashy moments while a multitude of vocal styles is presented.
Things end on yet another high note, the album-closing “Shallow Fate” is a serving of pure southern groovery and attitude. Tightly knit, it sticks firm in the curves while navigating twists, turns and other swerves in its tempos. By the time it comes to an end, you will want to immediately replay NOMAD and their fantastic monster of a record, ‘Feral‘, again… and again.
NOMAD will be supporting THE OBSESSED in Manchester soon then playing three special gigs to launch their new album with labelmates RedEye Revival:
1st May – Rebellion, Manchester w/ The Obsessed & Video Nasties [INFO]
1st June – The Peer Hat, Manchester [INFO]
2nd June – The Phoenix, Coventry
3rd June – The Dev, London [INFO]
