I came across these Nashvillian heavy hitters by pure chance, when I was invited to a show by an out-of-town band. On the bill was Noisecult and they blew me away from the get-go, even more so since they proved to me that there are heavy bands in the capital of country. As it happens I got my hands on their entire discography, five full-lengths in all, and felt it is more than appropriate to write about the albums chronologically. So read on, I hope you like what Noisecult are about and get interested enough to check out their music.
Their self-released debut is a raw, punkish affair mixed with a lot of Slayer especially in the vocal department. Bassist/singer Bo Heyward's rough voice reminds me a lot of Araya which is not a bad thing at all. The production is a bit unpolished and a bit rushed here and there but the music is really good. More importantly, you can tell the guys had fun recording 'End Of Days'. Founder Don Carr throws in a lot of cool, good riffs adding a nice 70's heavy rock vibe to the overall sound. The only downside is drummer Vinny Doody, yes that is his real last name. He is all over the place in the faster songs but does good in the mid-paced tracks. My favourite tracks are:'End Of Days', 'Never Meant To Be' and 'From The Void'.
One From None(2006, 2009)
The sophomore album, 'One From None' saw the light of day a year after the debut and some changes had occurred. Ben Bomlitz was the new drummer doing a much better job than his predecessor. Another change is the production has improved. The sound is still raw and punkish but also fuller with all instruments pushed to the right levels. Along with all the transformations the band has gone through hints of Slayer is still present but they have taken several steps forward in finding the Noisecult sound. Very good stuff indeed with some excellent guitar work from Don Carr. My favourite tracks are:'Incinerate', 'Blood Feast Tonight', 'No Sanctuary' and 'Digital Gods'. This album was re-recorded and re-released in 2009 with Sean Kay on bass guitar
Volume III: Vociferous(2007)
More changes within the camp again. A new drummer appeared with the band's producer Matt McElroy banging the skins.Going more for old style thrash with a real sharp guitar throughout, Noisecult still retains an air of Slayer but have added bits of doom metal and Motörhead as well. Along with a great production '...Vociferous' surpasses everything the band has done up to this point. They're definitely on the right path...excellent album! My favourite tracks are:'Into The Never', 'Swarm of The Electric Death', 'Pretty When You Bleed', 'Just Another Blackout' and 'Disciples Of War'.
Noisecult definitely has come of age here. It's more metal with thrash metal undertones with the snarl of Motörhead and the drive of AC/DC at their very best. Founder Don Carr is in top form playing some very deft parts on the guitar. Sean Kay is the band's new bass player with Bo focusing only on the singing.Matt McElroy and the returning Ben Bomlitz share the drum stool to great aplomb. And staying true to their progress the production is very good to say the least. My favourite tracks are: 'My War My Enemy', 'Spiders Wanna Eat My Brain', 'Dante's Inferno', 'Kill-Kill-Kill' and'Blood Feast Tonight(re-recorded).
Psychedelic Death Trip(2012)
The most current of Noisecult's releases and by far the best one. Everything has fallen into place for them despite yet another line up change. Mike Liffick has replaced longserving singer Bo while Matt McElroy once again shares the drum duties, this time with Don Berger. Super sharp guitars with a heavy and tight rhythm section sweeps through the songs with such ease and enjoyment. Widening their palette Noisecult incorporates more variation and diversity in the songwriting department, check out 'Sins Of Yesterday' and 'Innerlewd' and you know what I mean. Still holding on to the "brutality" from their previous albums, they have now added parts of Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Iron Butterfly and it works wonderfully.'Psychedelic Death Trip' is a fantastic album that deserves more recognition. My favourite tracks are:'Sins oif Yesterday', 'Psychedelic Death Trip', 'Innerlewd', 'The One True God', and 'Marching Unto Death'.
I hope Ihave stirred your interest enough to check this great Nashville band out. Like many other non-country and hipster artists in Music City, they get overlooked for the mere reason of not conforming to "ruling" trends here. Not giving up is worthy of praise alone and to have put out five albums of great music in the process, makes Noisecult's journey even more impressive.
- Swedebeast
