Nothingness — Godslaughter

Matching the upheaval and frantic political climate of their city, Minneapolis death merchants Nothingness, churn forth devastating brutality that is as complex and beautiful as it is punishing. Their third full-length, Godslaughter, continues the band's discourse in dissonance and "digressive death," pushing their envelope further and building a following along the way. Wonderfully captured by Adam Tucker, Godslaughter is a great look at the inner workings of Nothingness, their ethos, power, and drive to capture their "digressive" brand of death metal.

Nothingness may have formed with the intent of a formless "nothingness" the band would chase after, but the structures they discovered along the way have certainly taken shape and given them form. Aiming for a "digressive" approach and eschewing progressive compositions and arrangements, there is still a complexity to their arrangements, riffing, and rhythms. While not seeking a progressive path, they still ended up at the same location, two different processes, same outcome. And that is very ok, because the listener benefits from the end product not the process itself, and Godslaughter is a ripping, dark, grimy piece of death. The album itself is very thick, with its many layers weaving together to create a churning, chaotic stew, each instrument embracing its characteristics and doing its part to make each track memorable. For me, I get lots of Gorguts and Morbid Angel influences, which is great because they're two of my favorite bands, but Nothingness keeps moving with these notes and crafts them into their own brand of dark punishment. The band calls Godslaughter "a confrontation" and "a concise statement that gradually unfurls into the excess of oblivion." The coldness of tone coupled with the downward trajectory of vibe certainly reiterates this point, with the album being depressive and disconnecting for the listener. In mood, that is, as the music is really excellent and very engaging.

Godslaughter runs the gamut from slow sludge to blazing death, dragging a steel net behind it to capture everyone in its path. Playing a bit more progressive than originally intended, the flow of the album cracks from start to finish, its churning and undulating feeling helping to move the album in different directions as it progresses. Choosing quality over quantity, Nothingness have added a third, solid full-length to their discography (second with Everlasting Spew), and show great promise for the future.