REVIEW: Nadir, Rust (Self-Released)
- Paul Hanson
No, you probably haven't heard of New Zealand's Nadir. Their disc Rust offers an "alternative to the alternative metal bands" cluttering up the national AOR stations. Playing a groove metal likened to Tool, Alice in Chains and even the Deftones, Nadir know how to rock. And, more than being just another heavy metal album, that is what strikes me about this disc: they actually rock. They don't try and amaze you with a riff played at 1000 mph - they'd rather produce a mid-tempo groove and let the music speak for itself.
A case in point is opening riff of track 3, "Why Me?". In a cool Alice in Chains mode, guitarists Nathan Newumann and vocalist/guitarist Rob Lambert set up that good mid-tempo rock groove. As Lambert holds his vocals over the guitar riff, the song completes a metamorphosis closer to Tool as the song rides that motif out. The tempo increases its speed.
"Killer of All Things" stands out as well for its chorus full of "Fuck you's." Lambert sounds peeved as he disses all the people that didn't believe in him: "Believing our time was free /I laid out my roses/ Fuck you you left me no choices/ Fuck you fed me that same shit/ Fuck you reigned on my pride/ Fuck you, and killed my defences." Obviously, Lambert does not hold back his emotions.
All in all, Nadir needs to come to the United States, latch onto a festival tour and get some recognition for the music they are creating. Since the Ozzfest '98 lineup has yet to impress me, I'd vote for a second stage slot for them. If that happened, there might suddenly be a lot more fans of Nadir than the Deftones.
For more information on Nadir, check out their website at http://www.nadir.co.nz
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