 | Tracklist:
01 – Of The Same Blood
02 – Wake Up
03 – Utopia
04 – La Vida Libre
05 – Art Of Riot
06 – Revery
07 – Step To Nowhere
08 – Rise
09 – All About That
10 – Ready To Run
11 – Melancholia
Release Date: 01/24/2012 | |
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| Summary: The Russian version of Soulfly. Make of that what you will |
6 of 6 thought this review was well written
I don’t like to rip on little known bands, I really don’t, especially when they are nice enough to give away their albums for free, proudly waving that middle finger towards the shoddy business side of music. Sadly, I just can’t find too much to like about Nu-Nation’s debut album, Wake Up. Being an enthusiast of both groove metal the genre and groove-filled metal in general, I wanted this to be a good little underground release that would surprise me and get my foot tapping. Alas, there just isn’t much to be hailed about this record. Essentially, Wake Up sounds like an uninspired collection of Soulfly b-sides. The songs on this debut album are all based on the same thick, digging guitar grooves that propel Max Cavalera’s band, but Nu-Nation’s cuts don’t have that pull-in effect that the heavyweights of groove metal encompass. Since groove metal is a relatively straightforward style of music, it is mandatory for the riffs to be captivating, or at the least, they should get one’s head bobbing. Nu-Nation have a lot of work to do in that regard. The songs generally grow stale before reaching midway and thanks to the primitive song structures, which favor the power of a riff to variation, those who have the patience to listen all the way through will experience no change. It is one thing to base your music on groovy, enthralling riffs, but another to play the same dull chords over and over again, and Nu-Nation certainly sound like they had a shortage of ideas when it came to writing riffs for this album. With vapid riffs following vapid riffs, there simply is nothing noteworthy going on.
The best thing I can say about Wake Up is that it isn’t offensively bad and the title track, "Ready To Run" and the instrumental "Revery" are decent-enough listening material. The groove in "Ready To Run" really isn’t half-bad. Rest of the album is easily forgettable, blase material though. Nu-Nation wear their influences on their sleeves, but aren’t able to live up to them. Besides, even if they would have managed to, with seven Soulfly, four Skinlab and nine Ektomorf releases out there already (mind you, all those bands are still active), is there even a need for another so called "nu-thrash" group? Probably not, especially not for one that sounds like a poor man’s version of the aforementioned bands. Still, these guys are young and there’s room for improvement here. With tighter focus on both song- and riffwriting the next time around, they could churn out a decent groove metal album for all we know. At present though, Wake Up is nothing more than a rudimentary groove metal album. If you are a fan of Soulfly, Ektomorf and newer age Sepultura, you might like this, otherwise, it is best to keep clear.
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WAAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Digging: Gary Glitter - kiddy diddler Digging: Gary Glitter - kiddy diddler
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Good review, this sounds blehhh.
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Nu-Nation lol
Digging: Laurel Halo - Quarantine Digging: Laurel Halo - Quarantine
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Pos. As if the world needed another clone...
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Haven't those guys heard of Ektomorf?
Digging: One Way Mirror - Destructive by Nature Digging: One Way Mirror - Destructive by Nature
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I want to give this a 1 just for the name of the band.
Digging: All That Jazz - Ghibli Jazz 2 Digging: All That Jazz - Ghibli Jazz 2
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Nu Nation, wake up
NO, DIE!
Digging: Blood Red Throne - Altered Genesis Digging: Blood Red Throne - Altered Genesis
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I think that perhaps you could do without those first few sentences here, otherwise all I can say is the usual: nice work on covering something outside my interest zone ;)
Digging: Pink Floyd - Live At Pompeii Digging: Pink Floyd - Live At Pompeii
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
Thanks guys and Nag, yes, this is definitely not for you, but if you're interested you could check out my year-end list. I'm positive that there are a few albums that should pique your interest ;).
Digging: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites Digging: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites | | |
Great write-up mate. I should write a negative review one day, but I'm just too lazy to do it. The last groove metal album I really enjoyed was last year's debut of Smokescreen, The Human Condition. An independent release that recalled the greatest discs of Pantera. Excellent vocals and guitar work.
Digging: Hawk Eyes - Ideas Digging: Hawk Eyes - Ideas
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
Thanks Greg! That album sounds interesting btw, I guess I should check that out,
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Magnus Altkula, thanx a lot for the first not-Russian detailed review! I think it's fair, this album is really a kind of naive creativity. But as a member of the band I can say that it's made as a tribute to old-school genre we like so much. These songs are written sincerely and honestly, just as we could do. And I really don't think everything is so bad with the songwrighting. Though you know better))
Everyone can download the album for free from our website: http://nunation.ru/
Hope you'll like it despite everything
By the way, title track video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxXDHHUKtJw
Digging: Nu-Nation - Wake Up Digging: Nu-Nation - Wake Up
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
Thanks for being so civil, I appreciate it. Also, I never said that the songwriting is horrible, it's just that, since it's so straightforward, the riffs could have more groove and zazz to them. But the review is just my opinion, and I'm glad you value it despite it being a negative one. I also appreciate that you guys are sincere and passionate about what you do, props on that, and like I also mentioned in the review, I'm all for little known bands making it.
Thank you for your comment and if you promise not to murder me, I'll possibly meet you guys at the Tallinn date .
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Yeah, be shure! But I can't promise you will not be damaged in slamming and stagedive
See you!
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