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Written by Jeremy Housewright Thursday, 08 December 2005 08:29

It was surprising to see a metal band incorporate politics into its music, and Nothingface pulls it off nicely.

Nothingface’s new album is more than just the bare bones of metal; it would be hard to classify the group into one particular section of metal music. At one moment on the album, it could be all-out chaos, like “Here Comes the Butchers” which is mostly all screaming. Then along comes a song like “Patricide,” which features a lot of singing by frontman Matt Holt.

Like much of the music today, Nothingface does not shy away from letting their opinions be known. “Ether” is aimed at President Bush. It was surprising to see a metal band incorporate politics into its music, and Nothingface pulls it off nicely. Holt is the leader and best musician in the band. His ferocious vocals carry the album and make him one of the better vocalists in metal today. Of course, it takes a good band to complement a good vocalist.
Unlike the band’s last album, Violence, Skeletons does not lose the listener’s interest. While their debut was a good metal record, it was just not very interesting to listen to. Skeletons is just the opposite because it is not just all metal; it goes from slow melodic openings to all-out thrash metal in a matter of seconds. Metal fans should be prepared: with Nothingface touring Ozzfest this summer, things can only get better for a band that stands out lyrically and musically from all other metal bands in the industry today.