Review Summary: The sound of Earth's timid grace.
Few records are able to bring me a true level of comfort. A feeling that in spite of life's tragedies and misgivings, everything's going to be ok. That every fretful moment spent is a long dead corpse that I must bury and move on from, and that with that the weight of my mistakes, my stupidity, my irresponsibility, will be buried with it. However, that’s just what Nodachi’s “Beyond Death, Beyond Reason” has done. The warmth that radiates from it is a like a mediator between the fantasy I yearn to live in and the reality that I must shape for myself. The graceful, timid givings of this album transport me to a land where my burdens are a ghost of what they were.
That’s the lustrous beauty that this album manages to create. Swirling, dizzying drum fills and guitar riffs are counteracted with soporific violin and a small sprinkling of nature samples. These sounds are all so intricate and crafted, it should feel like you’re listening to an immense orchestration than anything. Sometimes, you are. Off tracks like “Jin-Kalil, Prince of Psychopathy” the drums and guitar are nearly claustrophobic with their sheer intensity, and dare I say, aggression. However these moments seldom stay as they transition into tranquility. This makes the chaotic moments exponentially more interesting as their power feels much more fresh and explosive each time.
Sometimes, you’re not listening to an orchestration. At times you feel like you aren't even listening to music at all, but instead gathered around the comforting warmth of a campfire drinking a smooth Irish Whiskey to calm your languid soul. This can be heard especially of the tracks “The Village of Echigoya” or “Blood Covers the Earth, Autumn Reigns”, the former of which is ruled entirely by violin and nature samples. In these moments the album's beauty truly shines, simply because it feels so organic and down to earth. It’s nearly hypnotic in these moments, drawing you into a euphoric trance like no other.
What really caps this all of is the rather impressive level of variety and technical skill Nodachi shows they are capable of. They perfectly meld together technical and sporadic Progressive metal with a melodic and passion form of Emo music (with a light sprinkling of Electronic even showing up on the final track). The transitions are never forced or jarring, and the record is seamlessly woven together, with each track remaining distinctly it's own sound while still manage to blend in with the overarching atmosphere of the record.
The only potential downside to this record is that it’s an EP that clocks in at barely 17 minutes. Nodachi can expand immensely on their sound, and so it’s unfortunate that what they have presented does feel like only a tidbit of the true masterpiece that hopefully awaits, but alas, this a small misgiving. The band has achieved an unparalleled beauty that most bands spend years searching for, and Nodachi has managed it on their first record, and for that, I must commend them.
