Nux Vomica are a band in perpetual motion. Several years ago, the core members packed up and left their native Baltimore for Portland. Even before that move, they'd been experimenting with dynamics and genres, slowly outgrowing their crust punk roots. They're quite good at it: The quintet's possessed with the uncanny ability to swirl together crust, melodic death metal, black metal, metallic hardcore, doom, noise, and ambient music into a cohesive, engaging whole. Here, they join the likes of Agrimonia, Downfall of Gaia, Fall of Efrafa, and even their clear inspirations in Neurosis and Tragedy as examples of crust bands who reached for something more, and ended up with something greater. Their 2009 LP Asleep in the Ashes is still one of the best examples of cross-genre pollination in regards to extreme metal, and with their third full-length (and debut for Relapse), they’ve provided more firepower for the argument. Given the high quality of their past work, Nux Vomica have continued to refine their sound in truly impressive fashion, and on this self-titled, three-song opus, they’ve hit upon an ideal balance of beauty and brutality.
The presence of melody is more pronounced and well-developed, and the dark, heavy moments hit harder. Just Dave’s ragged vocal approach is pure crust punk fury, and undoubtedly the most straightforward aspect of the band’s sound. Nux Vomica are otherwise happy to play with genres and dynamics, cherrypicking buzzing, icy tremolo picking, and rising melodic chords (a shining example of which lies midway through “Sanity Is for the Passive”) and applying them to their foundation of crusty metallic hardcore. Slow-burning buildups and ecstatic melodic crescendos keep the album moving, and even a 20-minute track like “Choked at the Roots” refuses to drag. It’s an impressive feat, but Nux Vomica have been working towards this moment for more than a decade. Their alliance with Relapse marks what may very well be their “big break,” or at least, go a long way towards introducing them to the uninitiated. It’s good timing, because this is their best effort to date.
Opening track “Sanity Is for the Passive” rushes in with urgency, framed by Dave’s frantic barks that rail against the media’s culture of misinformation. “We cannot live this way, we must resist!,” he howls, frustration and desperate rage informing every syllable. Nux Vomica’s politicized bent has formed the bedrock of the band’s philosophy since its inception in 2003, and this latest effort sees them dial it up even further. On “Sanity Is for the Passive”, they place the onus to improve conditions on the oppressed, snarling “Why do we participate so willingly?” Here, drummer Zacrilege leans heavily on his toms to create a huge rolls of tribal-influenced, Neurosis-style thunder, and the song itself roils atop the skeleton of a Swedish melodic death metal riff and blasts of furious metallic hardcore. Over the course of nearly 13 minutes, that intensity dissolves into a turbid ambient dirge, punctuated only by nearly indecipherable guttural spoken-word samples and snippets of sharp political prose. “Reeling” follows prettily, climbing an almost shoegazy melodic riff to great heights and riding the positive energy for a good few minutes. That opening salvo parallels the gentle gloom of “Corpses With Egos” on their last full-length, adding a nice sense of continuity. Of course, being who they are, the song quickly shifts into eclectic territory, running Danny’s doomy, ultra-distorted bassline beneath strokes of dreamy post-rock before picking up the pace and punching in desperate vocals and crashing cymbals.
Closer “Choked at the Roots” takes its time, grooving through a moody buildup before exploding. The Swedish death metal influence is strongest in this tune; some sections are full-on Gothenburg melodeath, while others jib closer with dark d-beaten hardcore. But it always sounds like Nux Vomica. The guitar work on this track is spectacularly creative and never gets away from itself; whenever they seems close to veering off course, guitarists Tim Messing and Chris Control turn on a dime and dive into a new riff or idea. The mid-song interlude cycles back to a haunting feedback-driven instrumental and ends on a triumphant note of hardcore euphoria. For a band that concerns itself so deeply with society’s ills and the sins of man, this is an incredibly joyful record. Perhaps they can tell they’ve made a difference.
