Labels: Dog Knights Productions/No Funeral Records/Sombras Del Progreso/Zegema Beach Records
Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital
Release Date: 28 Jan 2019
Tracklist:
1. Death As A Crown
2. ...On Account Of The Poison
3. Flower Offering
4. Saccharine Trance
5. It Comes In Plagues Of Consciousness...
6. Vow Of Violence
7. Half Truth
8. Cerulean Wound
9. Zen Depression
10. The Slowest Color Seeping Trough (Mask Of Myself)
11. Designs For An Altar
It's rather fortuitous that Zegema Beach Records has just released a CD compilation containing all of Nuvolascura's songs to date, which may be a precursor to something. It's good timing for me because I'm jumping back into my ZBR Roster Review series with the band's 2019 self-titled LP. I picked up a white vinyl copy from Dog Knights Productions, which was released in October of 2019 with the alternative black sleeve so I've lived with the album for a few years now. I saw someone leave a comment on Bandcamp describing Nuvolascura as a cross between Lord Snow and Oathbreaker. I can get behind that!
These eleven tracks go by in absolutely no time at all. Opener ‘Death As A Crown’ is considered long by Nuvolascura’s standards and what a way to kick things off! It’s filled with utterly impassioned screams and musical layers that straddle all corners of post-hardcore, screamo and even some blackened elements too. So friggin good!
From here everything becomes more intense as demonstrated by ‘…On Account Of The Poison’, which barely exists beyond a minute with it’s angular riffs and crazed percussive tempo. Everything seems calmer on ‘Flower Offering’ during it’s opening bars before Nuvolascura pick up in layers and textures, switching between emo spoken-word and caustic screams, as well as ever shifting instrumentation.
‘Saccharine Trance’ provides you with no chance of getting anywhere near said trance thanks to probably the most math-like song-writing you’ll witness on this LP. It’s an absolute banger. ‘It Comes In Plagues Of Consciousness…’ deceives as it takes over with gentle melodies and slower tempos for all of about thirty seconds, before Nuvolascura hit top gear with their most violent song yet.
In typically classy screamo fashion, ‘Vow Of Violence’ is the beautiful instrumental interlude that you weren’t expecting, given it’s title. Sandwiched right in the middle of the album, it offers a very brief moment of calm and tranquility, which is soon to be broken. The ringing feedback that signals ‘Half Truth’ does a good job of shattering any calming thought as the band precedes to rip themselves and you to shreds with glorious abandon. It benefits from being one of the lengthier songs, presenting more expansiveness and a space to breath.
That space is needed because no sooner has ‘Half Truth’ ended that ‘Cerulean Wound’ uproots everything again with pummelling emoviolence-led percussion, anxiety-filled trebly riffs and more insane vocal work. ‘Zen Depression’ seems like an oxymoron of a song-title and it’s actually pretty accurate, given the noise-rock approach that Nuvolascura take here. Groovier in many places, it grows with every bar before giving in to utterly bewildering grind.
Before you know it you’re listening to penultimate song ‘The Slowest Color Seeping Through (Mask Of Myself)’. It’s filled with expectation as it moves up the tempo scale from moderate to super fast and just when you think things are going to explode, it kicks you into album closer ‘Design For An Altar’. If fast screamo songs could ever be considered truly epic (in size and feel) then this one would sit right at the top of the pile. I don’t know what else to say and don’t really care how polarising that previous sentence may be.
Nuvolascura have favoured quality over quantity since their inception. The modern day screamo/post-hardcore community is lucky to have them amongst it’s ranks, especially when so many others have come and gone in quick succession. Hopefully, the future will be brighter for them and because of them.
You can stream and purchase the LP as a name-your-price download below:-
Physical copies are sold out from Nuvolascura and all of the above mentioned labels too. Hopefully, a repress will come at some point.
Nuvolascura - https://www.facebook.com/Nuvolascura
Dog Knights Productions - https://www.facebook.com/dogknights
No Funeral Records - https://www.facebook.com/nofuneral8
Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords
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