NIHIL QUAM VACUITAS ORDINATUM EST

Ever since Gorguts spawned its unorthodox soul crushing "Obscura" onto the world in 1998 there has been an arms race of sort by adventurous tech death metal bands to take such otherworldly atonal entanglements of sonic terror ever further down a rabbit hole so riddled with avant-garde aggressiveness and tortuous labyrinthine nihilism that in comparison to established scenes of extreme metal, these new cutting edge wizards of convoluted complexity sounded like invading alien forces more than anything within the established metal universe. So thereafter bands like Ulcerate, Pyrrhon, Portal and Mitochondrion unleashed equally abstract brutality dressed up in death metal dissonance and 20th century classical integral serialism with frenetic spectral fearfulness, trepidation and utter dread.

One of the newer kids on this block is the Italian band AD NAUSEUM which emanates from the Venetian region's city of Schio. Having formed in the year 2011, this ear abusing team of four which includes Andrea P. (guitar, vocals), Matteo G. (guitar, backing vocals), Andrea S. (drums) and Matteo B. (bass) graduated from Obscura University and received honorary PHDs for all things deranged and drenched with dissonant dementia. This band spent four long years crafting their ugly aberration of musical mischief which resulted in the delirium that became this debut release NIHIL QUAM VACUITAS ORDINATUM EST which translates into some sort of arcaneness like "Nothing Was Ordered To Empty," a title that perfectly sums up the head scratching vagueness that this procession of jangled guitar attacks and technical time signature rich jitteriness employs to bestow a temporary lapse of reason and entices the listener into a bizarre new quantum realm where the normal rules of physics do not apply.

While technical death metal has evolved in myriad directions, this is by far the most extreme journey one can embark upon within one of the already most extreme branches of the metal universe. AD NAUSEUM insinuates a nauseous roller coaster ride of sound which it more than delivers as this frantic crushing rampage of sonic swells relentlessly barrages the senses from every possible vector like a sailing vessel lost at sea during the most intense category 5 hurricane extinguishes all hope of survival. This is a wild ride with the intensity of Frodo and Sam marching through Mordor with the intent to rid the world of the ring of power but only to find its will is superior with a cold reptilian intent to dislodge any familiar sanity and cast it into a pool of Promethean fire so intense that mere mortals will melt into the primary elemental components that form the known universe. Yeah! Something like that! Hehe. Touted as Gorguts' lauded masterwork "Obscura" revived, NIHIL QUAM VACUITAS ORDINATUM EST truly does evoke that glorious milestone of metal music like few others have succeeded in doing.

Graced with eight outlandish tracks that consume over 55 minutes of your precious life-force, AD NAUSEUM relentlessly delivers an incessant attack on all "normalcy" of what metal music is or was i should say, about. With jagged razor sharp bantering guitar riffs pummeling arrows of atonality and a compositional fortitude based in 20th century classical composers which is only brought to life during the rare moments of the metal bombast taking a breather, the John Cage piano experiments and chamber music string sections expose the underbelly of a sophisticated giant lurking beneath the orotund decibelage so utterly intense that it truly sounds as if it was designed to wake the dead and some sort of zombiefication ritual that if nothing else will leave your soul in utter decay. This is truly some seriously chaotic technical music here unlike any other and well worthy of the title of being the next "Obscura" however the beauty thereof lies in the fact that this sect of soul sucking tumult is exquisitely designed and provides a suborder of hypnotic underpinnings that allows one to connect to this much in the way one could connect to the occulted inner workings of "Obscura." Yes, AD NAUSEUM has done their homework well and crafted a beautiful ugliness fit for those who have always secretly desired a triumvirate unholy unification of Gorguts, Ved Buens Ende and Deathspell Omega.

"Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est" is the debut full-length studio album by Italian death metal act Ad Nauseam. The album was released through Lavadome Productions in March 2015. Ad Nauseam was formed in 2011 in Schio (Vicenza), Veneto. They were formerly known under the Death Heaven name and released the "Viral Apocalypse (2007)" album under that monicker before changing their name to Ad Nauseam in 2011.

Stylistically the music on "Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est" is technical death metal, which aren´t far from the abstract and dissonant technical death metal of artists like Ulcerate and Gorguts. The lyrical themes follow suit and are about the abstract, hallucinations, and chaos. There is great rhythmic variation throughout the album and the drumming is generally on a high technical level (the same can be said about the rest of the instrumental performances). The riffs are mostly open chord dissonance but there are more regular brutal death metal riffing on the album too. The vocals are low in the mix brutal growling. It´s generally structurally adventurous, quite intriguing, and unconventional music.

The album features an organic sounding production (the band emphasize that they used vintage recording methods and gear, and it´s audible), which is overall well sounding, but lacks a bit of bottom end. A bit more heaviness could have made the sound more effectful. In many ways "Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est" is a very interesting release, but seen in a broader perspective there are other artists who have released albums in a similar style with more substance and originality. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though and "Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est" is recommendable to fans of dissonant technical death metal.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Listening diary 12th January: Ad Nauseam - Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est (avant-garde technical death metal, 2015)

Is it happening? Am I starting to enjoy death metal?

I come to this one via my love for the kinds of black metal that sound like you're falling into the depths of hell. Reverb, dissonance, chaos, and drummers that defy limbs - turn the lights out and let the darkness wash over you. I even compiled as stupidly titled spotify playlist to cover it, and decided to include death metal artists with the same atmosphere too. That has brought me to Ad Nauseam, who are truly a death metal band, even if the atmosphere is more adjacent to Deathspell Omega and Svartidauði than anyone else. And despite the standard issues I have with death metal vocals and riffs, I actually find myself enjoying this. It's terrifying and menacing and captivating in the way a good horror is - somehow all without falling into the comical or silly like so much death metal does.

6.5 (2nd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction