Niks - Nihilism [Harsh Noise London - 2020]Nihilism severs up two thirty-five minutes dwells in bothersome & brutalizing HNW from Bradford based Niks. The album is presented in the form of a CDR- that is one of a recent large batch of noise releases put out by Harsh Noise London. The plain shop brought CDR comes in a DVD case- this features on it’s outside bright & glitched up artwork taking in a picture of a London tower block, seemingly set on a rocket-like base, which is fitting for roaring & raging sonics with-in. Inside with the CDR is a single & basic insert slip- this declares this is no 35 in the label's catalog, the tracks two titles, their lengths, and the projects band camp- this release was ltd to ten numbered copies.
First up we have “Nihilism Part 1” – this spot on a thirty-five-minute track is built around a rapidly raging ‘wall’ that finds a constantly roasting rocket roar- topped with a thick crusty juddering ‘n’ jittering. As the track moves along we get some subtle shifts in jitter & juddering toping- but the roast remains very fixed. The whole ‘wall’ is decidedly simplistic in its make-up and attack- yet there is a good feel of battering intensity, that ties you down and forces deep searing noise into your ears- much like flaming rocket roast put into audio form.
Next & finally we have “Nihilism Part 2”- this is just slightly longer than the first track at twenty-seven minutes over the thirty-five-minute mark. Here we once again have a rapid & simplistic ‘wall’, and this time we find a blend of deeper searing roast- which is topped with a speeder buffeting tone. If the first track was the launch of the rocket, yet here we’re speeding off into the wind buffeting skies. Of the two tracks, I found this the most satisfying, as at points the tow layers seem to nicely blend into a raging thick storm of noise- though also there are some subtle-yet-effective variations in the buffeting textures.
As a release Nihilism certainly lives up to its name giving the listener two lengthy journeys into to ear numbing wall-craft. I can’t say I enjoyed this as much as other Niks releases I’ve heard, as both ‘walls’ rather felt a little too predictable in their rapid roasting & bass bound overload, and it would have been nice to slightly more textural detail- but as Nihilistic & numbing wall matter this works well enough. Roger Batty
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