Nonsun - Good Old Evil

Who's your favourite Ukranian band? Can you even name a Ukranian band? I certainly can't.  But, come to think of it other than Pussy Riot, the 80's metal/hard rock band Kruiz are the only band I even know of from that part of the earth and up until a few months ago my knowledge of the Ukraine was incredibly limited. I did recently see a Sixty Minutes story on men taking wife finding package holidays. There's a bleakness that tends to come to mind when thinking about most Eastern European countries. However out of necessity, Nonsun are a two piece band with Bohdan Goatooth handling the vocals and playing both bass and guitar accompanied by Andriy Alpha on drums.

Nonsun describe their music as drone/doom/sludge/post-metal. Unsurprisingly after that description all four songs are of the lengthy variety with the shortest being just under six minutes.
Nonsun let the listener know what they're in for ,right from the word, go. Slow heavy riffs blast out with vocals that are huskier than Tuvan throat singing before turning into a wall of drone. Nonsun are aware that chops and changes are needed in lengthy songs and a little bit of more traditional metal creeps in for a few seconds but chased away a voice that sounds like a caveman who has chain-smoked for forty years accompanied by heavy turtle-paced riffs.  "Rain Have Mercy" fits the post-metal description like a glove only with deep vocals that are reminiscent of Laibach at their best.  These guys clearly aren't fans of brevity with a song entitled "Message of Nihil Carried By The Waves of The Big Bang".  The song is droning affair that almost settles into a sloooooow marching beat.  The result is hypnotism on the eardrums although there is a brief moment where vocals come into play and ruin the effect but then it's all ok again.

The band's name Nonsun is perfect as it not only makes it clear that these guys like drone but that the band's music is perfect for a cloudy winter day lacking any sunlight and they're certainly not a clone band.  As a demo, Good Old Evil is impressive and anyone with an interest in drone or sludge should definitely investigate.  The demo is available for free from Nonsun's bandcamp page.  I certainly look forward to hearing more from Nonsun.

3.5/5