Download it for free here, watch all of the music videos from it here or stream it wherever you find music here.
Noct is the new album by Brooklyn’s Nefariant. It is a journey of its own as well as being the second and central installment of a soon-to-be-completed trilogy of inter-related albums, (of which 2022’s Fowl was the first). Noct is more than a collection of recent compositions, but it’s not a “concept album” as the term was developed a half-century ago, either. Its unity lies in its various songs’ diverse-yet-connected aspects.
The band’s defining feature is an elemental accord between word and music. The “brutal elegance” they espouse describes their embrace of contradiction in sound, lyrics, and visual presence (on stage, in video, and beyond). It also points to the complexity of each composition – not always technically (although that too) – but structurally: clean vocals and growls in antiphonal dialogue; piano and/or bass figures where the common expectation would be guitar licks, drums-as-melody-and-narrative, and so forth. It is given to the listener to participate actively in Nefariant’s intricacies in order to savor the band’s full range.
The first song, “Beg”, sets forth this non-simplistic approach: “Don’t beg”, states the singer to a potential lover at the exciting beginning of their relationship, because he won’t beg… and yet the pleading in every new lover’s heart is obvious. The music expresses the flexing alpha-swag the would-be lover (and any of us, really, when presenting ourselves for a new lover’s consideration) displays at such a moment even while simultaneously revealing all his self-conscious vulnerability.
In his philosophical treatise “On War”, von Clausewitz said “war dreams of itself”. The eponymous song sounds like the story it’s telling: the march goes on, much at the end as it was in the beginning, without clear goals or guarantees of victory or defeat. It essentially uses the sounds and signs of war to declare war on war. The insistent beat does not change and seemingly cannot end. In its aversion to melodic flights of fancy, the song warns us against romanticizing our own deaths/defeats in whatever great struggle engages us.
“Legend” is perhaps the most personal (and therefore, paradoxically, the most universal) of the songs on this album, built on Daniel Martinez’ father’s dying words to him. It’s a finale of sorts as well as a passing of the torch for the beginning of the next phase; timeless, yet intensely bound to a specific, hyper-aware moment. It evokes an ancient, all-but-forgotten past, and the renascence of that legacy in the child, the embodiment of the future.
“Bury You” also dwells in a place between (or beyond) life and death, a Goth love song. Someone is burying their beloved – but is that beloved actually dead, or is the lover reveling in a morbid (and strangely beautiful) necrotic fantasy? The music incorporates empty spaces, ambiguities, with vocals landing between piano riffs, embracing the void suggested by the loss (quite real, whether fantasized or actual) of the beloved. Conversely (and perhaps ironically), the next song “Gravedigger” is all-too-real and concrete. Paul Cibrano asked Lekberg to write a song about suicide and its effects on the survivers. The result is half a dialog as one friend talks another out of the final, despondent act. The core of this song is the narrator’s anger at the friend, his repeated exhortations “You better dig!” [i.e. your own grave] paralleled by the repeating riff led by the piano. “Helpless” appears to be about a break up but encompasses all broken relationships. As with “Gravedigger” but in a different context, “Helpless” confers dignity on an icky situation by rejecting the usual platitudes and trivializations. The heaviness of the drums compared to the sparseness of the other instruments and the lyricism of the vocals portrays a situation in which the narrator’s heartbeat (that is, suppressed, unspoken emotions) far outweighs what he can say in his helplessness.
In “Kenotic”, Nefariant draws a clear connection between interpersonal and universal relationships: the title word itself is highly controversial to translate, there being no one single answer. It refers to the “emptying” Jesus Christ underwent to become human, and so is often understood as the “fatal flaw” that brought death to the divine. Here, it addresses a chaos-inducing person (who doesn’t know one of these?) who has obliviously destroyed their own life and many lives around them. The singer-narrator expresses regret at the wastefulness of such a person even as he struggles with one inner voice among many that wants to re-engage with them.
In this song as in all their songs, the structure and the sounds are as nuanced and fraught as the thoughts and emotions that engender them – the melodies acknowledge their dependence on the dissonances, the Yes caresses the No, and the chiaroscuro is the overriding constant. Such is the heart of the brutal elegance that is Nefariant.
-Willaim Berger, Author and Commentator
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If you've already pre-ordered Noct for free, you will have an email in your inbox with a download link to the song. If not, you can download here, watch the video here, or stream it wherever you find music here.
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In his philosophical treatise “On War”, von Clausewitz said “war dreams of itself”. The eponymous song sounds like the story it’s telling: the march goes on, much at the end as it was in the beginning, without clear goals or guarantees of victory or defeat. It essentially uses the sounds and signs of war to declare war on war. The insistent beat does not change and seemingly cannot end. In its aversion to melodic flights of fancy, the song warns us against romanticizing our own deaths/defeats in whatever great struggle engages us.
If you have pre-ordered Noct there will be a link to download On War in your inboxes now. If you haven't pre-ordered it yet, you can do so right here for free and you will immediately receive all 4 songs we've already released as well as the coming 3 as they are released. You can also stream On War, and all our music, by clicking here and selecting your favorite service.
If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, you can now watch the visualizer for our 2nd single Legend featuring footage of us performing the song at our show at Union Pool a few months ago.
]]>The band again worked with producer Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Pantera, Static-X) and mastering engineer Paul Logus (Corey Taylor, Anthrax). Over a series of trips from their home in NYC to Ulrich’s LA studio ‘The Wilderness’ they painstakingly developed this new sound. They now begin a process of releasing one song per month for the coming seven months, beginning with ‘Beg’.
Noct Tracklist:
NEFARIANT is also announcing a show supporting to Somnuri (MNRK Heavy) and Loss Becomes at Union Pool in Brooklyn on August 26th. Tickets can be purchased at https://tix.to/Somnuri_826.
]]>Last February, we returned to Ulrich Wild’s studio in LA, removed the existing guitars and bass on our forthcoming EP and re-tracked them using this new method. That EP and a new music video are nearly ready to be released. In the meantime, we invite you to see the first public performance of this new configuration on June 17th - at the location we debuted in 2020, The Kingsland.
Photos by the iconic Dave Jackson taken at Sleepwalk.
]]>Complete Recording Follow Up EP ‘Noct’ with Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Deftones, White Zombie)
NYC metal band NEFARIANT have released the music video for their second single ‘Tonight’ off their debut EP Fowl. The video release celebrates the NEFARIANT debut to a sold-out headline show in Brooklyn on February 28th 2020, two weeks before the world went into lockdown. “This video is a celebration of the city we call home. With its resilience, attitude and striking skyline, it only felt right to create a video as powerful and moving as the song it was for” said Nefariant pianist Paul Cibrano. ‘Tonight’ was directed by Matthew Brewster and Christoph Manuel of ENGN RM. Watch the video here and stream the EP Fowl here.
Vocalist Jason Lekberg has also been revealed as the model for the deluxe cover of Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power graphic novel created by Z2 Comics which includes a Vinyl Re-issue of that album. World famous tattoo artist Paul Booth painted the image and asked Jason to sit as the model for his interpretation of the moment after the iconic punch featured on the original album cover. Jason Lekberg says of the experience “As if being friends and working with the legendary Paul Booth wasn't enough, I am honored to have been used as the subject for his interpretation of one of the most important albums in my life. The Pantera camp surprised us by making it the cover of the Deluxe vinyl reissue of the album as well as their new Graphic Novel and 14-year-old me is losing his mind." Pre-order the graphic novel and album here.
Nefariant have also recently returned from The Wilderness in Los Angeles where they have just finished recording their follow up to Fowl, titled Noct, with producer Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Deftones, White Zombie). A release date for this EP will be announce in the near future.
]]>NYC Metal Band NEFARIANT Release Debut EP ‘FOWL’ - Stream It Here.
Premiere Music Video for Debut Single ‘Life on Fire’ with Metal Injection. Watch It Here.
Announce June 12th Outdoor Headline Show and August 21st Support Show with Byzantine in Brooklyn
NYC metal band NEFARIANT, have released their debut EP Fowl as well as the music video for Life on Fire, the first single from Fowl, now live on Metal Injection (insert link). The band is also announcing its first in a series of shows, the first as a headline show on June 12th and the second as direct support for Byzantine on August 21st, both shows at Arrogant Swine in Brooklyn. Both shows will follow all current Covid guidelines for safety and curfew.
"NEFARIANT blends the elegance and brutality of metal in a way I haven't experienced since TYPE O NEGATIVE. There's an unmatched passion and sophistication to their art and I'm excited to see what they continue to create", said visionary Life on Fire music video director Frankie Nasso (Mudvayne, Nothing More) about the band.
NEFARIANT debuted to a sold out headline show in Brooklyn on February 28th 2020, two weeks before the world went into lockdown. Singer Jason Lekberg recalls, “The unfortunate timing of our initial launch became the rare opportunity to slow down and marinate. Though there are few things I like less than re-doing work, I'm excited to have had this past year to grow as a band and gain even more clarity in our vision.”
After spending the quarantine re-mixing the EP with Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Deftones) and re-mastering with Paul Logus (Corey Taylor, Anthrax), NEFARIANT finally felt like they had found their voice that drives the ‘elegant and brutal’ mindset of the project. “We felt like Ulrich really understood where we were coming from and what we were trying to create. It’s challenging to find a balance between heavy riffs and heavily melodic piano parts where both segments find synergy to complement one another instead of drown each one out. Ulrich helped us find that voice”, said NEFARIANT pianist Paul Cibrano.
NEFARIANT is (left to right) bassist Dan Martinez (Alekhine’s Gun), pianist Paul Cibrano, vocalist Jason Lekberg (ex-IKILLYA), guitarist Dustin Tooker (ex-Grade 8), and drummer Drew Maciejewski (ex- IKILLYA).
Nefariant is an all new, NYC based metal band comprised of dedicated, seasoned musicians.
Nefariant is: (left to right)
Dan Martinez - Bass (Alekhine's Gun)
Paul Cibrano - Piano
Jason Lekberg - Vocals (ex-IKILLYA)
Dustin Tooker - Guitars (ex-Grade8)
Drew Maciejewski - Drums (ex-IKILLYA)
Photo by Frankie Nasso
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