Formed in Geelong, Australia in 2014, five piece Nemesium are an extremely aggressive and heavy band which delivers a brand of thrash metal and death metal with a nod to the old school sound whilst retaining their modern edge. Their debut recording “Sentient Cognizance” has a very sci-fi and apocalyptic feel to it from the initial looks of the artwork, let’s see if it sounds that way too.
The five track release as mentioned before has a blend of thrash and death metal running through it with that old school vibe but a more contemporary sound. Opening track “The Foreshadowing” has a real heavy and intense intro which helps carry the ominous vibe which certainly helps the song live up to its title. Laced with buzzing riffs with that late 80’s/early 90’s death metal feel to them, the song sets the tone for the recording . Great technical leadwork, harshly growled vocals and fantastic drumming really stand out but the song does drag on a little for the opener.
“Annihilation Prophecy” is intense from the off. A harsh vocal growl over a fast paced groove and pounding rhythm section brings the song in and unlike the opening track, this one gets stronger as it progresses. Heavy breaks, powerful riffing and good solid vocals along with a real technical solo towards the end all work great and part of me wonders why this wasn’t the opening track. “Telexistence” is more frantic, like a musical form of controlled chaos. Rapid paced guitars in the vein of At The Gates along with a powerful feel and John Tardy like vocals really stand out but the flow to the track is rather disjointed. Round the mid-point of the track there’s a great progression which gives an interesting melody and this leads into an intricate solo over a simple, straight forward rhythm. Much like the previous track, this gets better as it progresses.
“Devoid Of Life” has a sinister edge to its sound from the off. Powerful drums and heavy guitars get your attention with the standard death metal sound and the frantic feel of the chorus works well but overall, this track is just generic for the most part. It has some interesting parts like the section before the second chorus and fantastic rhythm work from the drummer along with a powerful sounding outro, but it’s just typical death metal. Closing the release is “Open Arms” which is a cover of a song by ‘Damaged’, Having listened to the original, the band have stayed close to it but their rendition just lacks the rawness of the version by Damaged and it’s a bit of a strange way to end the recording.
Overall, Sentient Cognizance has some good moments, but it’s just bog standard death metal. Sure, that’s not a bad thing, but when only two tracks out of the five catch your attention, it could be better. Hopefully Nemesium continue to grow and when they release their full length offering it will be a lot better. Here’s to Cognizance chaps.
(5/10 Fraggle)
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