NU:N: Nothing Unveils Nothing (NU:N) (Black Genesis Records 2015)
The Portuguese scene is quite unknown in Spain. There are bands that have managed to go beyond the borders, but in general they are few and with relative success. For too many years, we have only focused in the UK and Germany (and a little in Italia, France and USA). Thus, for years and years, it seemed that in Portugal, apart from fados, they only made what came from The IDS, Isiphilon, Phantom Vision, Aenima o Poetry Of Shadows. Yes, ok, Moonspell, of course. But little more and, except for the last ones (and more metal) with a discreet success. Being generous.
About all this, we can deduce that I think knowing a Portuguese band capable of changing all said above is a big new. However, the members of NU:N (Nothing Unveils Nothing) aren’t newcomers. That is noticed in the quality of the compositions and in the way of performing them. NU:N practices a more than pure orthodox gothic rock, that one that links with the great ones -specially- 90’s, you know, Love Like Blood, Dreadful Shadows, Garden Of Delight, etc. Canonical but softened by the keyboard, lightly, almost unintentionally, getting that original sound in despite of that influences.
This guys from Oporto must have something special if they got to bring the attention of half of the world with such a short a debut album and without any live. They must have something special when they are even going to play in the Sacrosanct next year. Let’s see what is it:
Entrance To Illumination provides an intro and makes you enter the atmosphere. Smoke, white and black light, the required ingredients to enter the album. In April Of 1984, version from Vestigia (song and band which I didn’t know about). guitars ad hoc, cold basses, never-ending beatbox and the filtered voice that remains us a beginner Eysel. The keyboard softens and gives the song some danceable atmosphere that doesn’t raise the temperature even a degree but it is appreciated in such darkness.
The guitar from Under Your Stars Above maintains the 90′ pulse with no problem, full of powerful riffs. One of the best cuts of the album, it has all the required ingredients, in fact it was chosen as an advancement for the album. The voice, as ever; goes with the instrumental, this is a great dancefloor hit. Scorpio Rising, second «single» begins less savage, quieter if you ask me, with a greater presence of the keyboard and reverberation of the voice. Romantic and shattered air, like Red Sun Revival without violins. Epic, melancholic. A song to savor in solitude, one day of cold rain, five minutes of icy desolation. Dawn Of Terrestrial Birth makes its powerful influence via piano and keyboard. Instrumental, it doesn’t need more. Deserved rest after the storm of the songs above. An interlude that is as dark as beautiful.
Elysium for the Weak returns us to the way of classic danceable gothic rock, more english than the previous ones, it doesn’t arrive to the Limelight’s climax but it gets very close to it. Blame the keyboard and the beatbox. Dance To The Sun is the one we chose for the podcast, chapter Nubes y Ciruelas. The gothic canon again, epic and shattered voice, melancholy again, romanticism from the XIX again, makes us reassess the stylistic similarities (not beyond this) with Rob Leydon and company. This City This Woman, completely different from the rest. Ambiental. Dark. Minimalist. Recited more than singed, with the bass as protagonist and the atmospheric syncopated rhythm. It is a absolutely new register, almost opposed to the CD’s stylistic wealth. Great ending in any case. Two remixes are left, Dance To The Sun and Scorpio Rising, that appear in the limited edition (500 copies). Successful revisions of the aforementioned songs but it doesn’t provide much more.
Nothing Unveils Nothing is a great debut of one of the bands that, I imagine and hope, will give a lot to say in the usual gothic “gossip shops” in the near future. NU:N have achieved a tremendous (and deserved) impact with this first album even though it lasts less than forty minutes (thirty excluding the remixes). And as I said before, besides being great news they are an interesting reality too.
