Hey there, tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if you're looking for even more sick bands to hear, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
This Friday, August 27th, Nightmarer will release their new EP, Monolith of Corrosion, through the group's label Total Dissonance Worship with digital distribution help from Blood Blast.
If you've been reading this column for a while, you'll know how big a fan I am of Nightmarer. I previously helped them launch a single from their 2016 EP, Chasm, and did the early album stream for their 2018 debut, Cacophony of Terror, which dropped through Season of Mist. I've always felt the band's take on dissonant skronky death metal with a strong focus on extreme heaviness, groove, and a near mechanical feeling was unique and they've kept refining their sound with every new song and release.
The group's new three-song EP, Monolith of Corrosion, showcases further growth and expansion as a group, ultimately leaning into a conceptual EP format to create one epic piece of music split across three songs and spanning just a bit over twelve minutes in length. Aiding the killer music on Monolith of Corrosion is the addition of new members joining their ranks, the main one being guitar god Keith Merrow on 2nd guitar. Along with Krallice bassist Nicholas McMaster although I'm not sure if he is just a session player here or a full-time member now.
According to Nightmarer guitarist Simon Hawemann, "The idea for this EP concept goes all the way back to late 2018, just months after the release of 'Cacophony of Terror'. We wanted to challenge ourselves with a trilogy of songs that would descend in dynamics and sonics – in other words: Start off with a frantic pace and piercing dissonance, transition into levitating mid-tempo territory, and end it all in a down-tuned, suffocating crawl."
We ended up having to shelve this project for a while, went on tour in the meantime, and revisited it when we started writing material for our new album in January 2020. Ultimately, we decided to see it through as a dedicated EP release rather than incorporating it in our upcoming album, because we just felt that it had to stand on its own."
So be sure to check out Nightmarer – Monolith of Corrosion below and get even further hyped if you dig the band because a new album is set for release next year. If you like what you're hearing, pre-orders can be placed here and here. You can follow the group over on the Nightmarer Facebook Page.
