A bludgeoned sound and a mix of rage. A musical distillation of the lives and loves of two men living on the other side of the world. Machines with repetitive rhythms and, of course, saturated guitars and screams. Such is the raw universe of Stephen and Michael, the two members of the Australian industrial metal band No Names. Their LP I Surrender to the Void as of Now I Am the Void sets the tone from the first note, the first impact. Composed of four tracks and four remixes, it has been available since August 28th, 2020 in cassette, digital, and vinyl formats.
The aesthetics of No Names reminds us of another industrial metal band, Ministry. It features the use of samplers, sequence programming and voice distortion. Repetition is also a constant principle. The title “The Thread” is a perfect example of the texture and the strentgh inherent to the metal genre. In “Tedium”, the principle of repetition is characterised by the incessant hammering of the snare drum in every tempo. The use of high-pitched dissonances on the choruses is very interesting. They imbue a dark and compact sound material with an icy light. The almost horrific introduction of “Fake Faith” gives the impression of hearing a tortured old vinyl. This brings variety to the choice of vocal timbres. The title is harsh. The tempo is slower and heavier and gives “Fake Faith” a heavy aura of anger and rage. “Manufacturing desires” is remarkably interesting because it tends to break with the repetitive order established in the previous pieces by means of equivalences and by reducing the rhythmic values in the last quarter of the track for unbridled acceleration.
One could criticise a lack of variety in the four tracks. Riffs and identical rhythms follow one another tirelessly and the endings all occur in the same way: they are dry and brutal. However, the whole is perfectly coherent, and these repetitions end up making the listening frenetic and jubilant. The remixes are extremely welcome as they offer a new vision of “The Thread” and “Fake Faith” through other sounds and genres that perfectly match No Names’ industrial metal.
Translation: Joanne Gagnon
