Customer Reviews

Violence

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Starting with the fairly simple Kornesque nu-metal of their debut album "Pacifier," Nothingface's subsequent releases have become simultaneously heavier, more diverse, more creative, and more progressive. "Violence" gracefully transcends the boundaries of the nu-metal movement, with elements of thrash, death, and progressive metal thrown in. Singer Matt Holt expertly combines melodic singing with almost death-like growling, and the band manages to keep pace with his frequent vocal shifts. Tom Maxwell's guitar work is superb, with plenty of crunching riffs that often turn back the clock to the thrash days. The rhythm section places more emphasis on heaviness than on precision, creating a crushing bottom end to complement the technicality of Maxwell's riffing. As for the songs themselves, they're generally excellent. "Make Your Own Bones" sets the mood at the outset with throat-ripping vocals and absolutely crushing guitars. "Bleeder" places melodic vocals over a heavy musial background, and "Blue Skin" shifts perfectly from growling to singing (Holt's singing voice is actually even scarier than his growling). There are other great songs on this album, but I've prattled on for long enough. So in conclusion, GET THIS ALBUM! Arguably the best of 2000.

Nothingface will cut into your wrists then lick the wound close. The band can perform many different forms of metal and rock, On just this album alone. Though they bring it all together to make their own original genre which I've heard Matt Holt call "Metal of The Wretched". I don't consider Nothingface Nu Metal, They are beyond most Nu Metal bands skills! With Bill Gaal putting down incredible bass lines and keyboard melodies. Tom Maxwell shredding up headbang worthy riffs and rememorable rhythm that will bw stuck in your head for days to pass. Then theres Matt Holt, Which happens to be one of my fav singers, His Death Metal like growls are clean enough to understand, and his actual singing.. Is amazing, Clean voiced and powerful. The lyrics are personal "You know its hard to face you, When I know what you did.. Your sorry. Stay far away from you, Im sick and tired of you too. But theres the way you move, Dressed up in lies, Beds in truth" for instance. The one thing thats stands out above all is that this album was the last that drummer Chris Houck played on!Infact both Chris and new drummer Tommy Sickles played on this one, whom did which songs.. I have no clue but the drumming is excellent through out this album and brings the music together.


SONG RATING

-Make Your Own Bones ***** Good N' Heavy right off the get go. Very good opening song, Giving you a taste of Nothingface's originality

-Bleeder ****** Amazing!! This is a stand out song on Violence, The Vocals are very melodic and the lyrics will get stuck in your head!

-Same Solution ***** Brutal pummeling, The lyrics wickedly talk of murder & killing you. This song shows how brutal and heavy the band gets.

-For All The Sin ****** This is easily one of my favs on the album, With clean vocals through out of what seems to me a Cheating Relationship.

-Can't Wait For Violence ****** This mixes Nothingfaces Brutal & Calm styles well! Making one amazing song. This is a MUST HEAR!!

-Dead Like Me ****** This is a very melodic and dark song. The lyrics are depressing, But yet done very well. The Vocal work is excellent.

-Blue Skin ***** The reason I give this five stars not six is cause the lyrics lack here. Though this is easily the best Bass line on the album!!

-Filthy ****** Another stand out song. The band really come together on this one. My fav vocals & lyrics on the album. Very Melodic Very Dark.

-Hidden Hands ****** This is a VERY intelligent song, Both lyrically and musically. Matt uses both his Clean and Death Metal vocals.

-American Love ***** Brutal, But with melodic breaks. This song is also about murder and killing.

-Everlasting Godstopper ******* My fav song on the album, This is about god holding you back. And the suffering of the world by him.

-Piss & Vinegar ****** A brutal finish to a great album, This song really shows where they went to musically after Violence.


All an all, Nothingfaces Violence is not for your average Nu Metaler only but for avid metalers as well. On another note I can't help but see the similairities between Nothingfaces style and Mudvaynes. And seeing how Mudvayne happens to be friends of Nothingface its easy to say they might have rubbed off on each other musically. Get this album, Even if your a bit skeptical of the Nu Metal undertones.. You'll thank me in the end.

I remember when I bought my first Nothingface album-it was "Skeletons", and I bought it about a month or so after it came out. I had never heard a full Nothingface song before, only short sample clips, but I did like what I heard. So I put in "Skeletons" and wasn't too impressed, but after time, it grew on me...a lot. So then I purchased their release prior to "Skeletons", "Violence". I really wasn't expecting what I heard.

"Skeletons", with the exception of a few songs, is a very accessible album. Not Simple Plan or Limp Bizkit accessible, but any fan of modern rock could put it in a more than likely get a kick out of it. "Violence" is a different kind of album. Basically, it's heavier...WAY heavier. Sure, it's got nothing on Decapitated or Cannibal Corpse in terms of sheer brutality, but for a band that released "Skeletons", wow, I was shocked. And displeased. The album simply didn't grow on me. I tried to listen to it, but I just got bored. I mean, the songs dragged on, Matt's voice often sounded like a monotone drone, etc. So I put it up on the shelf and never listened to it again.

Until three days ago that is. And wow, what a change time can make. "Make Your Own Bones" sounds so much more awesome than it did two years ago. As I said, this is not an accessible album, and when I first listened to this album two years ago my favorite band was Linkin Park; now it's In Flames.

So does that mean the album won't grow on YOU? Probably not, as I noticed this album has had a lot of praise in reviews on Amazon and by critics. But as I said, you have to listen to it a few times, pay close attention to the music. This isn't mind boggling complex music; however, it's not extremely simple either. Matt Holt's voice has power in it-power I mistook for droning when two years ago. I mean, this guy can sing. His vocal lines in the chorus in "Bleeder", "Blue Skin" and all throughout "Filthy" are haunting. And what a scream. Listen to "Make Your Own Bones" or "Blue Skin" to see what I mean.

Tom Maxwell isn't an amazing guitarist, but he sure is solid. His riffs aren't too simple, and they're catchy, heavy, and deliver punch. But they're not easily forgettable either, at least not after the first few listens. Bill Gaal's bass actually cuts through, providing clear added distortion for the rest of the band. The band has two drummers on this record. Why? I'm not sure. It sounds like one drummer to me. But anyway, the drummer(s) do(es) a good job on this record, making good single-bass backing beats for the band to jam over.

Nothingface specializes in mixing brutality with beauty. One second they're a death metal band, the next they're a melodic rock band. The contrast works amazing on this record. But they don't stray too far from writing catchy hooks-listen to the verses of "Blue Skin" and try not to bob your head to Matt's menacingly catchy vocal lines.

So, in conclusion, this is a record for a fan of hard rock, metal, heavy metal, nu-metal, hell, even melodic death metal. Nothingface was truly a great, innovative band in a time where Limp Bizkit clones were endless; they truly stood out, but sadly never got the fame they deserved. But their works remain for us, the fans, to enjoy. So give `em a try.

Nothingface is without a doubt the most underappreciated band out there today. They put out some of the best music I've ever heard and vocalist Matt Holt has to be one of the greatest voices out there. Yet this band gets no respect. Now that they are on TVT records and have a new album that is probably gonna change. "Violence" is definitely some of the best Nothingface to date and its time for everyone out there to see how talented this band is. Although I did like their last album better "Violence" is still one of the best albums of the year.

When a band are really firing on all cylinders you can tell. It makes no difference what type of music you're listening to, be it classical or jazz or metal or pop; the key is that the album will be easy to listen to all the way through. "Violence" is an excellent example of an album where everything is working perfectly. From the first driving riff in "Make Your Own Bones" to the voice-shredding, headbanging final strains of "Piss & Vinegar", this is an album that amounts to more than the sum of its 12 tracks.

I was originally drawn to Nothingface by Matt Holt's stunning vocals and they remain the most important thing about this band for me. There are other vocalists who are more technically proficient and there are other vocalists who are more adventurous, but seldom have I heard a vocal performance with the sheer weight and intensity that Matt delivers. You can hear it in every scathing lyric and every screamed obscenity; this guy means what he sings. Not every lyric makes perfect sense to the listener, but they all must make sense to Mr. Holt because you feel the vocals as much as you hear them.

The guitar and bass work on this album are also not to be missed. Tom Maxwell has one of the most ridiculous right hands in the guitar world. His riffing is technically proficient and very fast, but it never sounds thrashy or uncontrolled. There are a few short solos (or solo-like moments) but they're only for accent. It's all about the riff for these guys and there are some big, groovy monsters on this disc. Think southern rock played at 2x speed, that'll give you and idea. Bill Gaal's basswork only adds to the groove-heavy vibe, acting as an excellent compliment and contributing an almost stiflingly heavy bottom end.

And then of course, there's the substantial wall of drumming coming from behind it all and really driving the music on this album. Chris Houck throws more fills on this beast of a record than seems possible. The first few times I listened, I was actually a bit annoyed by it, but it grew on me because it's done differently than most other spastic metal performances. How so? It isn't driven by heavy reliance on staccato double bass. He does use some, but it's more of an accent than the backbone of the rhythm section. Instead, the fury and intensity of his performance is driven by his snare. If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, just listen to "Everlasting Godstopper" (especially the first minute).

So there are excellent performances all around. That still doesn't guarantee a standout CD. You also need good production and execution. "Violence" has both. The production is tight, just a tiny bit dirty, and thickly layered. There are little electronic elements thrown in everywhere, voice samples (a Nothingface tradition), even a few momentary acoustic breakdowns. On the execution side of things, the presentation of the lyrics in the liner notes is both entertaining and properly disturbing. Read the lyrics along as you listen to the disc and you will get an excellent feel for the emotional road this album is taking you down.

All of the above are great reasons to buy a cd, but none of them are really why you should buy this particular cd. Here's the real reason: this is an album that dropped right in the middle of the "Nu-Metal" movement and right at the beginning of the post-hardcore/metalcore/emo/mallcore clone-fest that has become modern hard rock. Going back to 1996 and the "Pacifier" days, Nothingface has always been one of the only bands to successfully take little pieces of all those genres and turn them into something unique and refreshing. Yes, you will hear screamed verses that lead into singing choruses but it won't sound anything like Killswitch Engage or any of their clones. And yes, you will hear electronic elements and sound samples, but it won't sound like Fear Factory or Rammstein or Mudvayne.

In the end, I recommend buying this album because it's full of honest-feeling, genuinely angry, uniquely delivered, make-you-want-to-drive-fast hard rock/metal. It's an important release that will (or at least should) be remembered as one of the only good things to come of the Nu-Metal era. Pick it up.

Standout Tracks:
Bleeder
Same Solution
For All The Sin
Can't Wait For Violence
Dead Like Me
Blue Skin
American Love
Everlasting Godstopper
Piss & Vinegar

(So...basically all of them!)

Nothingface bows to no one. In my opinion, Matt Holt has the best voice in heavy music today. Right up there with Maynard from Tool. This cd is probably the best example of the diversity of Nothingface's music. There are brutally heavy songs where Matt does an awesome job of screaming and growling, and there are some more melodic, progressive moments. "For All the Sin" is my personal favorite Nothingface song, and I sing this one all the time. It hasn't left my head in seven years since this was released. No other song has had this much of an impact on me. If you love heavy music, buy this and their other cds immediately. It may take a few listens to get into it, as it is not for the faint of heart. This is not nu-metal, rather, they prefer to call themselves extreme rock. And I think that is a good term for them. They belong in their own category because they have aspects of so many styles evident in their music.

This is one of the most amazing, breathtaking, cutting edge alternative metal albums I have ever heard. There is nothing poppy or soft about this album, it is non-stop abusive and downright amazing beginning to end. Despite the "ballad" type softer songs like "For All The Sin", even those songs are so fierce that your head will hurt from banging. And once you get into the truly hate-filled skin-rippers like "Same Solution" and "Bleeder", you'll really know what alternative metal should really be about. So many great albums in the scene pale before this masterpiece of chaos and pure undiluted hate. Nothingface are the hidden masters of the genre, I guarantee that just about any fan of "true" hardcore (this is kind of hardcore mixed with alt-metal) or alternative metal like Slipknot or Spineshank will spend some of the best money of their lives on "Violence".

i was just about to turn this album in used a couple of years ago, as it got lost int he shuffle of my collection.i decided to give it a fair chance and boy i made the right choice.this album rocks.and thats an understatement."make your own bones" blows up track one and lights the fire which becomes an all out blaze throughout the rest of the record."bleeder", the catchy metal song on here,is a brilliant piece of heavy radio rock."same solution" is a scathingly heavy song that cuts thru the ears."for all the sin" mellows out a bit.my favorite song, "blue skin",wow.very catchy chorus and the breakdown in the middle of the song is sick tight.this album is incredible.singer matt holt really knows how to control his voice, the drumwork is fabulous, and the guitars just explode.amazing cd.for fans of spineshank,slipknot,and system of a down.

This cd is clearly Nothingface's best effort yet. This cd has a variety of elements that distinguish it from any other cd out there. Melodic, soothing elements, combined with eardrum-smashing guitar riffs and vocals create a mix that cannot be topped. Matt Holt clearly pours out his bipolar soul on this album, as evident in songs such as "Make Your Own Bones," and "Piss & Vinegar." Even if one weren't a fan of heavy music, they would be easily turned on to it with this amazing contribution by Nothingface.

Violence without a doubt has to be the greatest release from the four piece group calling themselves Nothingface. Many of the songs show different techniques of the ways that Mike Holt sings and of how Tom Maxwell uses guitars. With an outstanding mix of enraged vocals. heavy tones, and furious drum riffs, this band is soon to only become greater, I myself give this CD four stars for its great originality and along with being one of my own personal favorites. I not only greatly look forward to the release of their fourth album, but just want to say that I highly recommend getting Violence.