Relapse Records is a metal label. You know that. I know that. I only bring it up because it’s going to frame a great deal of the discussion surrounding recent signee Nothing’s debut LP Guilty of Everything, which might be unusually heavy dream-pop, billowy alt-rock, or blustery shoegaze, but it is definitely not metal. There’s probably never been a time when wimp panic wasn’t a pressing concern in the metal community, but these are more fraught times than ever judging by the two most controversial records of recent months—countless hours in 2013 were spent debating whether Deafheaven were too soft to be “real metal,” while doomgaze progenitors Alcest dropped the “doom” part entirely on the antiseptic Shelter. Situated almost exactly between the sound of those two records, Guilty of Everything walks right into the ongoing crossfire, which might actually make it the ballsiest metal album in recent memory.
Whatever guff they get from headbangers, this kind of projected audacity certainly works in favor of a record that doesn’t really have much itself. Guilty of Everything is loud, it’s distorted and it’s heavy, but it’s not aggressive. It’s actually quite comforting. No matter how softly Domenic Palermo sings during the first minute of “Hymn to the Pillory” and no matter how pretty those clean, 8th-note guitar chords are, you’re conditioned to know the tidal crash is coming. And when it does, it’s warm and enveloping, soothing almost. Even the moments of dissonance on Guilty of Everything have an aqueous rather than an abrasive feel; on the stirring single “Dig”, Palermo’s vocals have a steadying effect amidst the seasick, melodic leads while “Endlessly” swoons in the manner of a wave pool, contained, just immersive enough and somewhat menacing if you let your attention slip.
Of course, Guilty of Everything is comforting because it’s familiar as well—25 years of indie rock have been supported by the idea that bludgeoning guitars and vaporous vocals are somehow incompatible and for the first 15 minutes or so, having the opposite once again confirmed can even be kinda thrilling. But after that point, Nothing have pretty much told you all they have to say. That’s in a figurative sense, as Guilty on Everything seems to fold back on itself, its second half repeating certain modes on the first—the “uptempo one”, the “quasi-ambient” one, the waltz. The guitars remain gorgeous throughout, though lacking tonal or dynamic variety and Palermo’s vocals start to take the effect of stale taffy, soft and still retaining its sweetness, but inflexible.
But in a literal sense, you haven’t really heard anything Palermo has to say. Even when pitted against the quietest moments of Guilty of Everything, Palermo’s words are nearly impossible to make out. To be fair, this applies to 99% of all vocalists in this realm. But otherwise, it actually made the lack of specificity even more frustrating. Because you sense there is some kind of personality Nothing can’t quite convey in their music just yet.
I listened to Guilty of Everything without the lyrics sheet and not much more was revealed after listening with it. Same goes for finding out that the songs were inspired by Palermo’s coming of age in Philadelphia’s extremely shitty Kensington section and serving a two-year bid for aggravated assault and attempted murder. It gives some kind of perspective to typically generalized lyrics like “I’m on my knees...I’m guilty of everything,” and can make this record something of a conceptual piece about the will to live and a death wish somehow converging. But otherwise, a solid debut can’t help but feel just a little disappointing after realizing you could’ve had the doomgaze answer to The B. Coming.
