Washington, DC-based quartet Nothingface has made a name for themselves combining some of the most extreme sounds known to man with some of the most harmonious. Their muscular, jagged riffs, pounding rhythms and vocal mayhem give way to blissful sounds that defy a currently vapid state of heavy music. Call it versatility or schizophrenia, Nothingface's ability to make the leap from the melodic to the brutal and back again is what makes them one of the most intriguing rock bands around.
On 'Skeletons,' the band's second album for TVT and fourth overall, their evocative range is at an all-time high. "I'm a human being," says lead singer Matt Holt. "I'm not just limited to one emotion all the time. Like anyone, we have different feelings and we put them all into the music." Thus ‘Skeletons' is a ferocious yet hopeful record, which finds the band taking aim at all manner of hypocrisy and betrayal. With an eloquence that distinguishes them from the hard music masses Nothingface spits fire at corporate America, pretentious religious institutions, the government and anyone else unlucky enough to be standing in the way.
Though the band’s TVT debut, 2000’s ‘Violence', brought the band critical acclaim, scores of new fans, and a first taste of radio airplay (for the album's single "Bleeder,") it was no problem to find inspiration for the new set. The period between the release of 'Violence' and the recording of 'Skeletons' was the most trying time the band had ever experienced with each member experiencing a profound personal tragedy of some kind. After a long and grueling year spent on the road supporting 'Violence,' and though dealing with terrible losses, singer Matt Holt looked outward to take on a few broader issues. He consciously resisted entangling personal relationships so he could focus lyrically on topics that had always been a source of ire but had never been tackled on a Nothingface record.
"It's basically about time I addressed these things," says Holt of the new political focus. "I had a lot a problems within myself over the course of making this record, but I was also watching MSNBC every day, and there's a lot of fuel there."
"Here Come the Butchers" is a scathing indictment of the Catholic Church and the abusive priests who have been in the news over the past year. Holt rages, "The Devil lives in Rome/the Devil cloaked in robes/…Killers and rapists/Your priests are uncontrolled."
"I Am Him" takes another swipe at organized religion, accusing, "You define arrogance, discontent and emptiness." Using the first person, Holt mimics the ignorance of blind faith. "Hide away inside the dark place in my mind/Fear of God and will He take me home?" he sings, mocking those whose religion is founded on surrender.
"Ether" rails against the Bush Administration and its actions in the Middle East. The lyrics, "We came to take control/We came to sell you freedom/We came to burn you down/We came to brainwash your children" reflect Holt's feelings about U.S. military aggression abroad. "September 11 convinced a lot of people in our government that we need to be full-time imperialists," he says.
To create a sonic backdrop worthy of these messages, Nothingface enlisted producer Bill Kennedy, whose work with Monster Magnet, Nine Inch Nails and others has resulted in some of the most influential albums of the last decade. Holed up in Vancouver's Armory studio, Kennedy and the band clicked. According to bassist Bill Gaal, "I think for the first time, we're able to really say that the record came out exactly the way we envisioned it. Bill was able to bring out a sound that is totally the way we see Nothingface."
Another new element in the recording process was the creative input of drummer Tommy Sickles, a longtime friend of the band and member of their road crew who took over behind the kit while Nothingface was crisscrossing the country on the Tattoo the Earth Tour. "After working with the band for so long, what I always wanted was to get into the studio and get involved with the writing process." In addition to providing his own rhythmic stamp, Sickles wrote the spiraling, dissonant riff that forms the basis of "Beneath."
Overall, 'Skeletons' promises to take Nothingface to the next level in the relentless quest they began in the mid-Nineties. Over the course of two smaller independent releases ('Pacifier,' and 'An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity') the band has refused to cave into musical fads, staying true to their vision and steadily winning over rabid fans and fawning critics. Even during years when it seemed like any band with a drop-tuned guitar, two turntables and a faux Eminem on vocals could go platinum, Nothingface wouldn't compromise their integrity. "That's not who we are," says Maxwell. "And if you're not playing from the bone, if it's not from the gut, you're just posing."
The determination paid off with the 2000 release of 'Violence,' which Metal Edge magazine named the heavy music record of the year. And after the magazine’s first listen to ‘Skeletons’ they recently enthused: "This is the first standout metal record of the new century and will serve as the blue print for the next wave of hard music. Nothingface is simply one of the best bands in loud rock today."
As their devoted legion of fans, nicknamed "The Sick," continue to come out in larger and larger droves, the band will tour again in support of 'Skeletons.' Maxwell, like his bandmates, is chomping at the bit to unleash the album's pummeling new songs upon the awaiting crowd. "People are gonna get carried out in bodybags," he predicts, before summing up an apt mission statement for his unrelenting band.
"The moment is all you have in life," he says "And we're going to capitalize on it…"
Source: http://www.nothingface.net
