[P]review: Iron and Rust - Nomia
Hey, read this bold text, friend. The finished, complete, honest to goodness, full album review for Iron and Rust has been posted. You can check it out here.
Band: Nomia
Album: Iron and Rust
Label: Self-released
Release Date: July 15, 2014
I’ve never posted about a record that hasn’t come out yet, but I’ll make an exception here. Chances are, if you’re not from the Twin Cities or surrounding areas, you may have never heard of Nomia. I guarantee this will change, but for the uninitiated…
Nomia are a Minneapolis based instrumental post-rock/post-metal band founded in 2006. In late 2008, they released an excellent three track self-titled EP showcasing their own distinct blend of complex, interwoven guitar melodies, solid bass, and frantic, fill-heavy drums. Then, as far as releases go, they seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Over the last six years, Nomia have been writing, performing, and perfecting new material. And despite the unfortunate setback of having one of their practice spaces destroyed by a tornado in 2011 (yes, seriously), they kept at it. Just under one year ago, the four-piece began recording their first full length release, Iron and Rust. Now, they are almost ready to share it.
If the two teaser tracks, along with the band’s stellar performance at the tenth installment of the Heliotrope music festival in Minneapolis are any indication, this record is going to be an absolute monster. An incredibly loud monster at that. And I couldn’t be more excited for it.
Everything established by the band’s 2008 EP is still here, but brought to a gleaming polish while still preserving the raw energy of Nomia’s intense (and loud) live performances. Both “Kingmaker”, the first of two songs currently available for streaming, and “A Windswept Tree” (my favorite of the two) show Nomia demonstrating their mastery of dynamics. Precise drumming, riffy bass lines, and technical guitar work reminiscent of (but completely distinguishable from) Russian Circles, all come together to build each meticulously constructed movement back and forth between whisper quiet passages and sudden, mammoth explosions of noise. Like I said, I’m excited.
Go listen to the new tracks for yourself to hear why, and you will be, too.
Iron and Rust will be released July 15, 2014, and is currently available for pre-order through Nomia’s Bandcamp here for $6.99. Their self-titled EP is available for download now here for $3.
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