Artist: Nasum
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 5/13/03
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Title: Helvete Artist: Nasum Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 5/13/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
As Homer Simpson might say.... "Mmmm.....Nasum (drool)". Okay, he'll probably never say that for a few reasons, most notably his history of having favorite songs like "Uptown Girl" and "It's Raining Men", plus a tattoo of Starland Vocal Band. But let's face it, I watch way too much Simpsons and that's what goes through my mind every time I think of this album. Nasum continue to show no weaknesses on their latest disc, Helvete, which is named after the Swedish word for Hell.
"Their third album remains a blistering attack of groove, time changes, and blastbeats, all wrapped up in a tight little package with unlimited crossover appeal." Nasum are a band that continue to satisfy, and also continue to grow. Their third album remains a blistering attack of groove, time changes, and blastbeats, all wrapped up in a tight little package with unlimited crossover appeal. They haven't stagnated, however. They continue to improve the production values, letting every subtle nuance through, as long as the listener is patient enough to listen for it through the white noise. And the songwriting continues to get tighter and tighter, resulting in one of the best extreme records of our time. The album does seem a little more streamlined than Human 2.0 (which, in turn, was more streamlined than Inhale/Exhale), but it strikes me as a sign of maturity rather than any overt attempt to alter their sound all that much.
While this record might be (slightly) more accessible to those who couldn't get into the brilliant but disjointed fuzziness of Inhale/Exhale, everything that those of us with better musical taste cherished in that record remains. The band's technical ability is just gravy. Sure the rhythm section remains immaculate, laying the foundation for brutality that can seemingly go off in any direction at any time, but it also remains understated, a means to an end. The riffs are just infectious as are the dueling vocals (who can spit bile the farthest?), resulting in an album that is weighty and fluid at the same time.
"The riffs are just infectious as are the dueling vocals (who can spit bile the farthest?), resulting in an album that is weighty and fluid at the same time." As with all grind releases, picking favorite tracks is an effort in futility due to their limited length. But their brevity allows many more themes to be developed in the course of the album than one would expect, and while it can get frustrating that some of your favorite parts could have been explored a little further, there is always something interesting just around the corner to satiate any lingering cravings. End result is that despite the fact that in certain circles this band has been getting their due, they still strike me as vastly underrated. Helvete solidifies Nasum as the band to beat in modern grind. Let's hope that Pig Destroyer keeps the competition fierce with their next release. One word review: Addictive.
Death's Review:
"Helvete" means "hell" is Swedish. I have no fucking idea what Nasum means, but there's no doubt that they're one of the leading names in modern grindcore. Nasum's third album shows a touch more musicality than heard on the classics Inhale/Exhale or Human 2.0. This time, they deliver 22 tracks, many of which display a new level of necksnapping groove and flavor for melody that wasn't as prominently heard before in the Nasum sound. Still, the expected devastation and destruction pours from the speakers. Carcass, and Napalm Death are channeled. So is Death and even Morbid Angel. Perhaps even a little Metallica or Iron Maiden. Metal and grindcore are forged into one. Chaos ensues.
"This time, they deliver 22 tracks, many of which display a new level of necksnapping groove and flavor for melody that wasn't as prominently heard before in the Nasum sound."
I like "Breach of Integrity," "Preview of Hell," and "Your Words Alone." But all of the songs pretty much deliver a similar overall, vicsceral blast. Only this time, they have a bit of a more "evolved" feel to them, sacrificing a measure of velocity. Like much of the grindcore genre, for me the fast parts are often just a setup for the groove riffs, and trust me - on Helvete the groove riffs deliver. Think Kreator's "Riot of Violence" when listening to the middle of "Breach of Integrity" - somewhere along the metal lineage, there is a connection there. Execution, production and musicianship-wise, this is the best Nasum album yet. Of course, with the refinement comes a tradeoff - a measureable loss of a certain measure of visceral impact and valued "raw" aesthetic. Still, while this is certainly the most accessible Nasum album, Helvete is by no means anything short of 100% extreme. It strikes a nice balance between the two and is definitely heavy (check out the "chorus" of "Illogic"). The musicality and more traditional "metal" stylings that creep in are in service of the core Nasum ingredients, speed, aggression, quick songs and crushing slow parts.
"Like much of the grindcore genre, for me the fast parts are often just a setup for the groove riffs, and trust me - on Helvete the groove riffs deliver."
Hel's Review:
It seems like ages since I last had a new Nasum album grace my player. Always an event to be cherished and savored, after repeated spins, I have decided that Helvete does not disappoint in the slightest. Once again, Nasum has managed to take their hallmark frenetic pace and dizzying precision to new, astonishing levels.
"Gifted with a rare talent to use lightning fast riffs as a foundation for songs oddly oozing with groove, Nasum has once again torn my head off and spun it back to me in an artful display of brutality." Gifted with a rare talent to use lightning fast riffs as a foundation for songs oddly oozing with groove, Nasum has once again torn my head off and spun it back to me in an artful display of brutality. Incessant drumming, bass lines that will weaken your bowels, and nonstop guitar riffs combine with dueling guttural vocal lines to form the only boundaries these songs acknowledge.
"I unfailingly feel as though I have been neatly dismembered and reassembled, and I feel much better for it." It takes a very special combination of talents for an album to be both mind blowing and earth shattering. Nasum has neatly accomplished both for my benefit. With their surgical delivery and mind-boggling compositional skills, after listening to Helvete in its entirety in a single sitting, I unfailingly feel as though I have been neatly dismembered and reassembled, and I feel much better for it. Thanks, Nasum!
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