Nucleus

Nucleus

Entity

Unspeakable Axe Records/Me Saco Un Ojo Records

14 June 2019

Nucleus is in some ways some of the most old-school, classic-style death metal. The growling is low and is kept low throughout, and that’s it, in terms of vocals. The rhythm guitar tone and riffs are strictly along the lines of the classic styles. This may be the year 2019, but the band is going for something more timeless, something that won’t immediately stand out as a 2019 thing that listeners will identity. On the other hand, something is different and peculiar. On top of the chunky riffing, they consistently have somewhat odd-sounding notes. The reason that it sounds kind of odd is that the top-layer guitar parts are clearly not common in metal music forms. Usually, in these situations, death metal that is old-school might have some thrashy hooks, maybe some fast soloing, perhaps some melodic solos or licks. Usually there are these types of things that the listener subconsciously expects, and because they are not here in this old-school-minded band, Nucleus comes across as something a bit unique in 2019. Mostly, one could say that these are somewhat dissonant notes and these top-layer guitar parts is something that avid death metal fans really should hear for themselves. It is not super weird stuff, just off the beaten path, but overall this is not music that freaks out the genre’s loyal fans, just make them notice the little bit of uniqueness of this Chicago band.

Nucleus is very purposefully unmelodic. If you are hoping for a catchy melodic thing, forget it, they will not throw you even a little bone. Instead, there are all sorts of guitar sounds that can be somewhat dissonant, sometimes it sounds like the lead guitar is heading in a different direction from the rhythm, almost as if the idea were to keep the listener at a certain distance. Science fiction is important to the concept of this album. The artwork is not easily discernible, and it requires a bit of observation to make up your mind as what it is that you think you see. Similarly, the music functions in a way that it does not match the expectations of certain formulas. This is music for fans of serious forms of death metal. If you have tons of death metal albums and they bring you joy, you enjoy checking out the many varieties of styles that fall under the umbrella, then Nucleus will be of interest. nucleus.bandcamp.com/album/entity