Reviews of "Inataraxia"


well, what can i say? this full-sized ep is one of the most adventurous and strange i have heard. only two songs grace the track listing, cloisterbot and mouse, both over 20 minutes in length. what makes this album so different is the stories behind the two songs. both epic in their own right, often silly but totally inspired and wonderful.
cloisterbot is the story in 6 parts of a mad scientist who attempts to download jesus christ into an old medical robot, in which he has installed the brain of his son. when the robot heals wounds like it did when it was still in service, people believe it is the reincarnation of jc and worship it, much to the dislike of the scientist who wanted all the credit. he destroys the robot, flees from the enraged crowds and is eventually blown to his death from an airlock. see what i mean about inspired? the story is told mostly in the lyrics from the deranged mind of the scientist, but you'll have to use the lyric sheet to follow them, because they're sung in a traditional death metal style of voice. the backing music is also very metal in its style, with electronic drums and filler sounds and a heavily distorted guitar and bass as the noise sources. drums range from steady rock to double-kick grindcore styles. i suppose i should comment on quality and recording, but this is one of those rare cases where it doesn't matter too much that the quality isn't top notch. the abrasive metal edge of the music combined with the weird vocals is enough to keep you listening. my one and only complaint is that the parts aren't all that different in music, so it feels a bit like 26 minutes of the same, but that would only be a half truth, since you have to listen more to start to identify different sections. what do we call this? the best epic storytelling electro-metal on the planet, also the only one! mouse is a different matter. the story behind the music is just as good (steve nibbler combines his hobbies and has sexual interactions with cheese, inadvertently impregnates a mouse which spawns mouse-boy, who goes on a killing spree with his specially made rodentia 5000 bio-mechanical weaponry). there are no lyrics though, since this is the soundtrack to the story (there is of course, more to both these stories, but i'm giving the highlights). the song in its 21minutes goes through stages of extreme noisy metal and undistorted jazz-like guitar parts, but never strays far from the general chaos as described in the mouse-boy story. perhaps it is a little long for what is essentially an instrumental metal track, but if you slowly read the story in the cd booklet out loud as it plays, it all makes perfect sense, somehow, in a wondrous nanochrist world. the only feasible thing left to say is that time is an illusion and lunchtime doubly so.
- raw42.com


Nanochrist is a band that has a different generic of today nu-metal. They are not pretty much of nu-metal, but instead a fusion of nu-metal, industrial and rock. Drawing their major influences from the like s of today nu-king Korn, Tribal metal Sepultura, Self-claimed GOD Marilyn Manson and the electronic sounds reminds me of Dog Fashion Disco. When the whole of this X^-9 is dark, weird, distorted and a bit of scary movie mood-like(some could be make as cool horror movie soundtracks). I will say these guyz are quite unique as there is a touch of industrial atmosphere in some of tracks. If you listen carefully you find some jazz magic in one of track too. Some tracks is pretty much instrumental with some interesting guitar solo and bass solo . I will say it makes this album is much more interesting as I can see. A band of great immersed potential. If you like a band with more cutting edge. Maybe Nanochrist can please your inner hunger of dark edgy music. Take a break Nu-metal for awhile. It is getting a bit boring.
- www.deaththreats.com

If one thought Nanochrist's first release, X^9, was technologically cold and mechanical, one will find that apparently the thermostat was set ten degrees colder for the followup release, Inataraxia. The album contains two sprawling, cold and calculated pieces that last for nearly fifty minutes of alloy and silicon listening. The first track alone covers six parts and lasts for over twenty-six minutes. The second song is a tad fuzzier and warmer, but Nanochrist still evokes images of Voivod with less ambient warmth. The robotic singing approach, the precise drum programming and ultra-emotionless production do wonders for creating and sustaining a mood throughout the record. To a degree, the band may be asking a lot of their listeners to follow them through the two extremely long songs. The sprawl is a bit to assimilate, even over the course of quite a few listens. The musicianship is quite good and very fitting for the concept of the album. For people who haven't heard Nanochrist, their debut is still the best place to start before one tries to work his way into the coldness of this release. Moreover, fans who miss the technology aspect of mid-era Voivod should find comfort in knowing another Canadian band has seemingly taken up the torch.
- from www.chedsey.com AKA Satan Stole my Teddy Bear

"Nanochrist is a strange animal indeed. Imagine a band that lists Peter Gabriel, Sepultura and Nine Inch Nails as influences for starters. Then throw in their two song, 50 minute new CD in for good measure and what you've got here is a lot of explaining to do. Not really, though, because this Canadian trio is an extremely technical and talented outfit whose diversity is their strength. The meshing of Fear Factory-esque programming with Korn-like dissonance under a prog rock aura is jarring at first, but is sure to catch your attention. If you like heavy music with an edge and an open mind, then Nanochrist is the perfect musical experience for you."
- MikeSOS

This Canadian band has got to be one of the most strange and original bands I've ever heard. This new CD features 2 songs; both together total almost 50 minutes, The first is a very strange 25 minute descent into musically diversified weirdness in 6 parts. The second is a 21 minute instrumental that is even stranger than the first song. Musically, they combine so much different shit into their creative sound, it is literally impossible to categorize this band. In fact, I dare someone to attempt to pigeonhole them as this or that. It can't be done. Their sound could possibly (and I'm grasping here) be described as dark, industrial metal meets the late '70's progressive era sound (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd) with a Frank Zappa twist that really throws things out of whack. It takes a lot of balls to attempt a release like this for an indie band, and my hat goes off to them for having the conviction and ideology to do exactly what they want to create. This will definitely open up new aspects of appreciation towards creative music.
- Phil, "Brutalized" zine.


"Although the CD registers as containing two tracks, the first "Cloisterbot" is in fact six songs segued to make a single 26 minute epic - the spirit of Rush lives on, though thank Christ that is as far as it goes. The story (or concept) is a pop at blind faith, whilst the music is an amalgamation of Voi Vod for the discord, Fear Factory for the precision cyber metal and Frank Zappa for the wackiness and solos. If you‰ve heard the Voi Vod song "Jack Luminous" off "The Outer Limits" then you‰ll know what to expect. The other track "Mouse" is a 21 minute instrumental that follows a very silly story about a man shagging a piece of cheese and impregnating a mouse, which is enough to put you off cheese for life. The music is as wacky as the story, with plenty of strange parts and some seriously good solos from the Zappa-esque Mike Bryant. NC are operating at grassroots level, self-financed, self-recorded and self-released on a CDR. There is a wealth of talent on show here and without a doubt NC deserve to go far. [9]
-Ian, Death to Dead Things

 

I've never been one to get into the kind of albums that have two or three songs that are really long, nor have I ever had the patience to endure songs that extend past the ten-minute range. It takes some seriously innovative and downright original musicianship to keep my attention for that long. We live in a world of 700mhz computer systems, DVD players and movies that average an hour and thirty minutes, what makes anyone think I'm going to listen to a song that's 26:16?
Nanochrist is really quite a cool outfit from Canada, but I think this album is downright silly. Initially I think you could call Nanochrist an odd mix of industrial and hardcore and with this album they throw every mashed up riff, every shouted vocal and every fucked up drum beat into two songs (Cloisterbot - 26:16 / Mouse 21:33)
Why couldn't they have broken up the songs into different tracks, cause really that's all they are, just a variety of tracks amalgamated into two songs. Both of them have substantial pauses for cuts, but I guess they felt otherwise and I'll have to respect their decision. However, I have a choice whether or not to like their music and specifically this CD. - www.midnightmetal.com Listen

Lyrics

This album is currently out of print.

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