NOTHING – The Self Repair Manifesto
Review by: Shell Dahlia
Review Score: 8
Progressive metal act from Melbourne, Australia ‘NOTHING‘ has been releasing teasers for their new concept album over the course of a few years, unsure when they would be ready to release the album in its entirety for quite some time. Finally, all their hard work has paid off and they have managing to put together the final pieces of the puzzle. The band’s second album ‘The Self Repair Manifesto’ will be available on the 26th of March. With inspiration from bands like Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, The Haunted and Exodus combined with a valuable line-up change, NOTHING has created an album showcasing their new signature sound which is seriously heavy, creative metal music paired with ‘against the grain’ lyrical themes, resulting in a very interesting listen.
Riding their own wave not only with their rule-free musical compositions but also with their choice of narrative. The album’s inspiration is completely different to the traditional horror, gore, war, or grotesque themes that usually influence the story telling in metal music. ‘The Self Repair Manifesto’ follows a journey of a female antagonist in a narcissistic relationship, battling for her own salvation. This is sadly a relatable topic for a large portion of humanity that is not focused on enough and is a serious issue, it really hits close to home. The band’s choice to write an album based on such a sensitive that so many women have been through and have been impacted by, is courageous and admirable. It may dig up buried traumas for some and inspire others, regardless of whether it creates positively or negative feelings, it has the capability to stir emotions the way great writing should. Each song is the next chapter of the story and is accompanied by music that combines several styles of metal which complement each other creating flow, giving it appeal to a diverse metal audience.
‘NOTHING’ released a self titled EP in 2016 with a different lineup and more of a thrash metal direction. It was a great stepping stone for the band as they managed to gain traction and went on tour with some heavy hitters in the scene. I say stepping stone because their newest album has more depth and maturity gained from the added years of experience and deciding that every band member will be involved in creating each track, a different approach to what they did on the previous album. An eagerness to give the public new music saw them release the first version of ‘The Self Repair Manifesto’ in 2018 which has now been re-released recently as an entirely new song in line with their new sound with more technicality, heaviness and better production, making it a more accomplished title track. Prior to this the band released singles ‘Subterfuge’ in 2020, ‘The Shroud’ in 2023 and ‘Dirge’ in 2023, all of them pieces of the journey of ‘The Self Repair Manifesto’. Reflecting on their approach, bassist and vocalist Craig Johnson wishes they had completed the album before they started releasing singles to avoid the large breaks between new music and the inability to produce release date for the album. Although it wasn’t an ideal method, they still managed to create hype and anticipation with their spaced-out releases of impressionable, intriguing singles.
If you dive into this album with an expectation that this album is going to be quite wild like a lot of progressive music out there, you will not find that here. ‘NOTHING‘ has taken a more delicate approach by tying in different genres of metal without jolty changes in tempo and clashing genres. The album opens with tribal like percussion, building suspense and curiosity, giving nothing away for what’s in store. It then explodes with thick, bone-crushing riffs, blast beats and bellowing gutturals, which for a listener without professional expertise in progressive music, sounds like a well-rounded blackened death metal song. Several songs on this album are written in a similar way making it hard to determine when and where and how many changes in genres are occurring. However, track four ‘The Shroud’ and track five ‘Dirge’ have pronounced changes in style and tempo. ‘The Shroud’ takes the listener back to the opening sound of tribal-like drumming and eery waling. It then explodes into the organised chaos, the kind of sound dreams are made of for metal enthusiasts. Then, the cherry on top, in comes the chunky breakdown that makes metal heads turn to each other with a turned up bottom lip and exchange a headbang of appreciation and enjoyment. Another standout track is ‘Abrogation’ which encorperates a variety of vocal styles and range, the blackened style screeches are well placed and are an absolute treat.
By not limiting themselves with the expectations of certain genres, ‘NOTHING‘ has used better production to reinvent the sound of black metal and toned down the extremities often found in progressive music. This can make it a controversial album for elitists of both genres who are not open to changing the sound that they know and love. On the other hand, it makes it a more accessible album that will draw a larger crowd, wooing them with its creativity and originality. All in all, I found the album to be engaging and exhilarating with ‘outside the box’ creativity.
Track List
Initiate
The Self Repair Manifesto
Subterfuge
The Shroud
Dirge
Abrogation
Resolve
NOTHING Is
Dale Van Haltren – Drums/Vocals
Craig Johnson – Bass/Vocals
Tobias Shanahan – Guitars/Vocals