Album Review: The Nub – Quad Damage (Self Released)

The debut album of The Nub, Quad Damage blends industrial with death metal and deathcore and will be released on the 15th of December 2020.

All the work of one individual (Austin Farmer), The Nub is a challenging record as it blends genres in complex ways. While often undoubtably a heavy-ass release, the industrial side of the band is not easy to ignore. So, if that’s not your jam, you may not find yourself as into this as others.

Especially as the electronica intro of ///null doesn’t do much to build excitement. However, put that to the side and prepare for something with serious meat to the bones with Void. A stop-start slab of fuzzy aggression that is filthy to the ears and always feels like it’s seconds away from erupting into bedlam. The clean vocal segments are a little nu-metal sounding too.

It flows into the guttural nastiness of Papa John Will Always Be My Papa where death metal rules all. Before Buried in Baghdad piles the dirt on in slow and methodical style and This Little Piggy brings layers of sinister effects and barely contained rage. The latter proving to be one of the best tracks on the album.

Although the twisted Cancer is not far off that. The chugging death metal rhythm with guttural roars and spoken-word vocals really put the mind in a dark place.

With the penultimate track, Rugrats is Foreplay For the 1%, it’s time for something with a bit more energy to it. Another banger that races along with all the passion and wrath The Nub can muster. Which is a hell of a lot.

The album wraps up with the cold melody and cleanly sung, Buried in Baghdad (Reprise). A nice closer that improves on a lot of the cleanly sung segments found elsewhere.

The Nub – Quad Damage Full Track Listing:

1. ///null
2. Void
3. Papa John Will Always Be My Papa
4. Buried in Baghdad
5. This Little Piggy
6. Cancer
7. Rugrats is Foreplay For the 1%
8. Buried in Baghdad (Reprise)

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook