Nothingface: The Overlooked Pioneers of Guttural Nu Metal | Should Have Been Bigger | Nu Pod
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- Опубліковано 18 лют 2024
- Toomey and Ro reflect on the underrated band Nothingface. With a focus on their prominent lineup of Matt Holt, Tom Maxwell, Bill Gall, and Chris Houck on drums, the conversation explores their standout albums like "Pacifier" and "An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity." The speaker delves into the challenges Nothingface faced, attributing some struggles to record label choices, particularly TVT. Despite being part of the nu metal wave, the band's distinctive, guttural sound, reminiscent of bands like Lamb of God, didn't always resonate with a mainstream audience focused on cleaner aesthetics. The guys lament the band's underappreciated status, expressing admiration for their raw energy and memorable live performances, while also touching on the later project "HellYeah" involving members from Nothingface, Mudvayne, and Pantera, expressing disappointment in its outcome.
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Violence is one of the best nu metal albums ever!
It IS the best nu metal album ever.
Great record
Skeletons is also another fantastic album.
Skeletons is the best Nu metal album ever. Violence is close
I really think it was purely a matter of not enough ppl being exposed to them, no label promotion, no widely released singles, no music videos (only one, from their 4th album in ~2003, and it was one of their mellowest songs that was not the best representation of their sound).
I only heard of them through an online friend sending me stuff from Violence in 2000, it became one of my favorite records of that year and I picked up Audio Guide. I assumed everyone who listened to nu-metal must know of these guys bc they were so vital. They filled a particular niche of groovy metal with alt rock & hardcore elements at a time when all of that stuff was popular and the combination of it was still growing in popularity.
Punk rock was still big. Hardcore was becoming more metallic. Metal was becoming very mainstream. Nu-metal was absolutely blowing up. They were ahead of the curve but they were not an off-putting band for people into that kind of music. Most people who caught them on tour with other nu-metal acts liked them and became fans.
They absolutely could have popped off in that post-Slipknot & pre-9/11 window when they released arguably their best record (Violence in 2000) but nobody heard that record. They could have popped off with Pacifier in the post-Korn world, but nobody heard that record. If stuff like Defaced had been promoted in a post-Korn world, if Breathe Out had been promoted, if Can't Wait For Violence or Blue Skin had been promoted, sent to rock/metal stations, had videos made, one of those could have been a Blind or a Dig for them. Can't Wait For Violence is still such a great song, it was an amazing introduction to them, it hit me the same way it did hearing Mudvayne the first time when I saw the video for Dig, and LD50 was one of my other favorite records that year.
When Nothingface finally broke up--after a string of strong records that got very little attention at a time when ppl were going crazy to hear more of that kinda music--they very much blamed the label for not promoting them, and by that point they were reportedly known to lead chants of "Fuck TVT" at shows bc they were so unhappy with the label mismanaging their careers.
They hit gold on Audio Guide and Violence. Matt Holt sounded amazing when nothingface was main support for Machine Head in 2000. Biggest disappointment was Nothingface/Vision of Disorder cancelling their co headlining tour in 2001. Two of the best sing scream bands to ever do it!
RIP Matt Holt
Skeletons is another banger. One of the most consistent bands of the genre, along side with American Head Charge, Spineshank, Deftones, System of a Down, Sevendust, Coal Chamber and Static-X.
Nothingface were fucking AMAZING.
Nothingface and American Head Charge had some magic.
Great episode. You're right, I fucking LOVE Nothingface!!! I'm from Maryland, and I never thought about it, but that probably is why they resonate with me so much. Definitely underrated, and a step above most.
Growing up as the "weird fat kid" in a rural part of Finland, bands like Slipknot, Mushroomhead, Limp Bizkit and Korn were my lifeline. Back in the days Nothingface's Violence was on the list of most important records of my life that got me thru hell that was junior high, I wish I could have seen them live and rest in peace Matt Holth
I had no idea that anyone outside of America really got exposed to them which is pretty cool. What part of Finland?
NothingFace , American Head Charge ,Vision Of Disorder ,Biohazard all very underrated in my opinion .
Vision of disorder was on TVT too, they were dropped due to poor record sales
I'd be fine if Nothingface never got huge but what really crushed me was Matt passing away, that was hearbreaking. Rip Matt.
They absolutely should have.
Nothingface is one of my many top inspiring bands I have ever listened to. Their career was cut so short; too short. They're latest material was getting dope as fuck. Nothing will ever compare to them. They never got the attention they deserved. That whole group has talented individuals. RIP Holt.
I miss Nothingface
I totally agree with everything they mentioned. It is by far my favorite nu metal band, if I had to label them in some music sub genre. They were unique. The drums and bass created a really strong base. The guitar riffs were so different and awesome. Matt's vocals were just pure magic.
I have had this conversation with friends in several occassions, and we always get to the following conclusion: Nothingface is the most underrated band of heavy music.
I love every song and album, and I will listen to them for the rest of my life.
Nothingface takes me back to a special time in my life every time I listen to them. I loved all their albums.
Still my favorite heavy band of all time. Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity is the most underrated album of all time
One of my favorite bands. Audio Guide and Violence are fucking perfect.
Wow this is unexpected! Audio guide is a top 10 album of all time for me violence not far behind it
I will never understand why Nothingface never made it big. They were so stellar, best bi polar metal band in the 1990's and early 2000's. Holt had such a strong singing voice and was so melodic but unleash the beast in him and he could scream with the best of them. This band is gone but will never be forgotten in my world. Audio Guide and Violence are absolute masterpieces. Never forget going to see Morbid Angel, Soulfly, and Pantera in 2001 and was so pleasantly surprised to walk in the arena and there was a Nothingface banner hanging over the stage and they opened. Figured it would have taken Nothingface to the next level but leave it to humanity to ignore something so good. RIP Nothingface!!!
One hundred percent agree... I think the lyrical contact Might have been too based on religion and politics. But because it wasn't framed like ridge against the machine. I don't think people knew what to do with it... On a side note.
I have been trying to put together a petition or figure out who needs to be contacted.
So that we can get violence violence printed on vinyl
That would be awesome
Same here ! Very underrated nu metal band .
Thank you for stating my exact thoughts on Hell Yeah!! All it did was destroy nothingface and mudvayne (in my opinion). Killer be killed was a much greater collab band than Hell Yeah! Nonetheless, Nothingface was such an inspiring band! I am so thankful I was able to catch a live performance before Matt's passing. RIP Matt Holt, and RIP Nothingface.
I’m 54, and still listen to all their albums still to this day, they were amazing and very underrated. Got to see them with at HOB Hollywood back in the day with Motograter, another great band that never gets mentioned. They had a distinct sound that no other band comes close to replicating to date. Now I love Gojira, Impending Doom, After the Burial, Becoming the Archtype, but Nothingface was in a category of their own, still great music. I hope the younger generation finds them and gets to appreciate them as much as we did. RIP Matt, one of the greatest singers to ever grace us with his presence.
Such a unique band. Started with some nu metal sound but evolved into their own. Audio guide through skeletons are like nothing else. Skeletons is a masterpiece. So melodic but heavy. The guitar tones and composition are so unique. I've always wondered why they weren't more known even among the metal community. Shitty record deal. It seems like artists are always getting ripped off by people who have nothing to do with the art. Still happening today. I still listen to nothingface weekly. They've never felt formulaic or boring to me. Into the sun... return as nothing
For anyone interested, I have 3 clips of three unreleased Nothingface tracks on my channel!
I named my son after Matt Holt
RIP
💯
My son is named Holt ..... and I'm Matt
NothingFace were the black sheep of the Nu metal family.
The black sheep is American Head Charge.
I could talk about Nothingface for hours. Loved that band. Saw em twice. So great. But I think they got lumped in with the whole nu-metal pot, even though I don't think they fit with that genre at all. Pacifier maybe a little bit but the other three records not at all. they were just alt metal to my ears. It was heavy but melodic at times and just didn't have ANY hip-hop/funk/grunge/industrial elements. I feel like any band labeled as being "nu-metal" has to have one of those. (P.S. I agree with you, Toomey. Hellyeah was so corny and awful IMO. I feel like it was just a cashgrab. "Let's write cliche modern party metal and tons of biker bros will buy it!" uggh.)
Either and beneath are hits
Was hoping for a longer, more in depth discussion. Not much really was said.
Hellyeah was utterly disappointing, with their lazy song writings. I still can't believe they remained a band for 10 years. Imo, Tom should've held off from the supergroup from the very beginning by giving us the 5th NF album that we were promised.