Nothing More is a four person progressive metal/alternative metal band from San Antonio, Texas, USA. They’ve been in the scene since 2003 and were independent through 2014 when they signed with Eleven Seven Music record label with their breakthrough, self-titled album Nothing More.
Now that we have the introductions out of the way, I want to tell you about my new-found obsession with their 2024 album Carnal. This album has absolutely taken me hostage.
It begins with a very soft and melodic introduction – Carnel – that includes a voice over that is almost meditative. The narrator tells the listener to breathe in, hold, and breathe out. The track then builds up and flows effortlessly into the next song.
The first full length track on the album is House on Sand, which boasts a feature from Eric Vanlerburgh from I Prevail, is the first of many songs on this album that takes aim at the current state of the world. For example, let’s take a look at the pre chorus:
I’m a patient, going apeshit on the fourth floor, in the psych ward
I’ve been baptized, franchised, Americanized, left here wondering why?
Anyone who is part of a marginalized group, especially in the United States of America at this time, likely knows exactly how this feels and as a disabled woman in this capitalist hellscape, this song is just the beginning of the validation this album makes me feel.
The following song, If it Doesn’t Hurt, is another one that feels very relevant to the experience felt by the current news cycle. From the chorus:
If it doesn’t hurt at all, then it doesn’t mean a thing
I never knew that I could feel this wayIf it doesn’t hurt at all, there’s nothing left to save
Cause holding on to hope is a different kind of pain.
Fucking ouch.
Now, moving on to my favorite part… Angel Song ft. David Draiman of Disturbed. This whole song is an absolute work of art. As a satanist and a lover of art history and religious allegory, this song is a delicious allegory for the fall of Lucifer and the rise against tyranny and fascism. I would like to share an example including the chorus flowing into the second verse.
Falling like Angels, out of the dark and into a dream
Come all ye faithful, light up the sky for all to see
We’re falling like angels.They try to own us and control us so we don’t get in the wayBut we get in the way
Won’t take no shit, won’t be no bitch, not one more inch
No, we’re not going away!”
This song hits hard and fast at only 3 minutes and 6 seconds.
Freefall is a softer song with a more melancholic feel. Jonny Hawkins takes us on a journey through the loneliness and pain of maneuvering through the world with a brain that hates you. It’s raw and emotional and incredibly impactful for anyone who has ever struggled with any form of mental illness.
The next song on the album starts with a fast drum beat that almost feels popish in nature, only to immediately gut punch the listener with a story about loving someone with an active drug addiction and how that affects everyone around them. Blame it on The Drugs is ambiguous enough to be applied to a parent, a sibling, a friend, or even a lover. It is a very honest description of just how difficult it can be to try and maintain a relationship with someone who doesn’t want to get better or heal.
Do you want to analyze what it’s like to have anxiety and existential dread about the way of the world and where we are headed as a species? Existential Dread will do just that. This song brings to the forefront of your mind exactly how it feels to exist in late-stage capitalism. Chasing dopamine, technological advancements, finding religion… Whatever it takes to keep you going is both a savior and a detriment to your mental well being.
Down The Review is another moment in this journey that starts a bit shocking. There is a softer acoustic intro and then we are swept into a story of a man struggling with his mental health. This is someone who is begging the universe to take it all away; someone who wants to just give up and let someone else drive for a while. This track is followed immediately by another, Give it Time, that is telling almost the opposite. Life is hard but if you give it time, it does get better. This pair goes nicely together and it is very healing for someone who has maybe struggled with suicidal ideation before and is sitting in the bottom of the pit, unsure if they will ever find their way out. It fucking sucks, but it gets better if you just give it time.
Building off of that, Stuck ft. Sinitzer, comes at the listener hard. This is what it is like to feel stuck in life and now that he has broken through that, this is what he is going to do now. On another note though, this song feels like a protest anthem. “This is for the people who can’t break through” if you can’t seek justice and fight back, then I am going to stand up for you.
The last full length track is Run For Your Life. This song takes all the points they built on up until this point and takes it all the way home. Everything is terrible but it’s better when you’re dreaming. There are so many distractions and because of them, the monsters can get you so you better run for your life. They use some synth here to sort of emphasize the dystopian threat and I think it is really effective. To really drive that point in, the synth instrumental goes on for nearly a minute with no lyrics and blends in seamlessly with the final track.
As I mentioned earlier, the Album begins with an almost meditative interlude that leads into the first song. There are 3 more of these interludes scattered throughout the album, and then a final one at the very end. Each one is slower with some sort of narration regarding the human condition. |HEAD| touches on the natural feelings and experience that go along with being human, |HEART| is a powerful description of what it means to move through life as though you are in the middle of a river and the differences between fighting the current, swimming along with it, and letting the river carry you along. What does it mean to harness the power of the word around you to go through life?|SIGHT| is an existential discussion on how the past, present, and future build on and affect one another and each of us. Any listener with a religious background or trauma may want to pay special attention to this one. |SOUND| is the final track on the album. This is the culmination of the rest of the album. It touches on the dangers of humanity and religion. It also has a nice audio montage of some of the lyrics from the rest of the songs.
This album touches on everything I need at this moment. This is my riot soundtrack, it has encouraged me to create art, it makes me think and feel and fight. This is what I want on in the background when I pull up to fight God.
