CoC : Nothingface - A Guide to Everyday Atrocity : Review

Nothingface - _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_
(DCide, 1998)
by: Jody Webb (9 out of 10)

Nothing juices me more than hearing some major ass kicking from a bunch of unknowns. Nothingface's latest disc is no exception. Although _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ is the band's second offering and follow up to 1996's _Pacifier_, I see no reason why the band should not pretend _Pacifier_ doesn't exist. Neither does vocalist Matt Holt, whom I interviewed. "I never felt _Pacifier_ represented us well and we all hated playing it live," says Matt; "we love this new record." And rightfully so, I say. The guitar, drums, and bass congeal into a massive weight that steamrolls the listener and often grazes the fringe between rock and metal. The harmonies present in the choruses bring to mind Soundgarden in their _Bad Motor Finger_ era, while the chugging and grooving verses and breakdowns afford an analogy closer to Kilgore or Stompbox. Matt likes to alternate between singing and shouting, which may throw the listener for a loop, because on some cuts he shouts the entire song while on others he does nothing but sing. Holt explains: "I don't have a formula for when to do what, like, to sing during a chorus or scream when the guitar is angry. I follow my instinct and do what comes." The production is close to ideal, and at the slight cost of dipping a bit into bass heaviness, you can usually hear exactly what bassist Bill Gaal is doing, which is often using his four string to good harmonizing effect rather than simply doubling the guitar parts. My only qualm here is that the cuts start to sound a bit the same, but with the consistent high quality, it turns into one long awesome song, sort of like Slayer's _Seasons in the Abyss_, which on CD is all run together. On a final note, the most relevant factoid is: _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ has greater time of possession on my discman than either the new Death or Sepultura platters.

(article published 19/11/1998)