Album Review: Video Nasties - Dominion
Reviewed by Tim Finch
If you are looking for the one band that are going to cause the biggest stir in 2020, then look no further than Video Nasties. The scouse quintet have been lurking in the shadows since 2017, having come together from some of Liverpools greatest underground bands of recent times... The Bendal Interlude, SSS, Magpyes and Iron Witch! The band are heavily influenced by horror films, they use their influence in their song writing, in their branding, in everything surrounding them. They signed to APF Records on Halloween last year and on Friday 13th they release their debut album 'Dominion'.
The band comment:
"There’s a lot of John Carpenter worship on Dominion. All of his scores are amazing. We tried to capture that same 80s Carpenter vibe with a lot of the melodies on the album. If you imagine taking Sepultura, Carcass and Entombed as main influence and then lacing it with the hooks of John Carpenter, The Cure, The Cult..."
So with all that in mind, how does 'Dominion' fair in todays over crowded music scene?
‘Stay Gold’ opens with eerie sounding white noise and a dialogue sample taken from a horror film which helps both set the scene and build the atmosphere. As the music kicks in you are knocked for six, brutal guitars and Damian Von Talbot’s haunting scream. His vocals feel a cross between Jeff Walker and Dani Filth at times. Both great points of reference and often adding a little black metal feel to the tracks.
The majority of the tracks on this album utilise audio samples from the band a favourite films, all perfectly fitting the individual songs themes. ‘Hanging Tree’ the lead single from this album is no exception perfectly using a sample to lead into the aggressive track, thumping riffs drawing you in before Damians screams slap you around the face.
The whole album is a battering ram of noise, perfectly produced to encapsulate the theme that Video Nasties were aiming for. Mixing influences of death and thrash metal with grind core and those black metal laced vocals.
‘Red of Night’ has a different feel to it, an enticing drum line and a fuzzy riff grab your attention and just as you’re settling into this change of pace, up pops Damian with a shovel to your face as his vocals kick in. The song overall has a rockier feel, stoner rock meeting death metal in a wonderful meld of styles.
Throughout the recording there is no let up to the intensity in the music or the way the band mould their horror influences into the production. It’s raw, gritty and wonderfully enthralling. In a world where so many bands fail to come up with anything even resembling originality, Video Nasties break through with something fresh, new and vibrant. The break through act of 2020 is here and now!
Video Nasties release 'Dominion' via APF Records on 13th March.
#ICYMI - Check out our Devil's Island feature with Video Nasties here.
