Crushed together and formed with great might yet eternally cursed with a wriggling hand for dissociative delirium Minneapolis, Minnesota-based death metal sextet NOTHINGNESS return hulking across this third and most focused full-length album. ‘Godslaughter‘ finds the band eschewing some of their belt-fed eclecticism for the sake of ramping up into this third iteration, a seeming feat of surrealistic defiance. Not quite tech-death, dissodeath or even necessarily ‘old school’ in shape or timbre the melting pot of interests which sustains the band remains a mash-up prospect but this time around the pieces make more sense in alignment.

Nothingness formed in late 2018 by way of guitarist/songwriter Alex L. (Aberration) and vocalist Barclay Olson (Sacrificial Vein) sporting a collage of ideas which’d coalesce into a modern form of death metal per their debut full-length album (‘The Hollow Gaze of Death‘, 2019). Rounded out by drummer Jason Hirt (Vanishing Earth) the core trio of performers involved would lean heavier into sluggish dissonant muse on a better received second LP (‘Supraliminal‘, 2023) which reflected isolation and cope alike post-pandemic. On that record they’d achieved something which was technically psychedelic death metal by definition wherein parts were writ under the influence and then workshopped by a growing collective. The band’s roots in everything from post-metal/sludge to late 2000’s metalcore only grew louder at that point but the basal vessel for their craft was yet abstract death metal. If you are a fan of bands like Replicant, Teeth and disso-tech like Nightmarer think of these folks as a dirtier younger sibling, less concerned with minimalist severity and bearing no palpable interest in reciting classicist canon.

In review of that second album I’d found the evolving mechanics of Nothingness‘ sound/style were more compelling than the actual music in most cases and I say that because their approach to songcraft was far from outright pastiche but had little hook (or pocket) beyond the in-the-moment effect served by their groove-pushed abstraction. It was a deeply introverted experience and in response ‘Godslaughter‘ appears to intentionally change perspective, aiming for a no less expressive but all the more aggressive, outward-shot experience. You should at least get this effect from Side A outright where shorter, crunchier groove-death metal pieces speak to brutality, multi-vocal theatre, and busied use of their big spongey nuclear throb of a guitar tone. “Skull Evulsion” is probably the best example of all pistons firing in this direction though follow-up single “Trenchant Glunch” plays with said rhythmic pump in a more characteristically bizarro fashion.

As I’d suggested a few weeks prior, mid-album standout doomer “Vanquishing Providence” offers a peak point of mutation for Nothingness v3.0 which reflects the band’s greater transformation across ‘Godslaughter‘ unto a barreling yet still maze-like stance, lending some pure death metal etched room to breathe. That song, paired with Side B opener “Divine Irresponsibility” reflect an early-to-mid 2000’s death metal aura wherein the doomed and sludged-out grime of classic bands like Incantation and Gorguts are generationally reflected in some sense without overtaking the full impression. The latter song also notably allows just enough of their interest in late 90’s/early 2000’s Godflesh and chunk-core to creep through for effect. These are finely representative pieces without giving up the full range of the album in one shot; The second half of the album features longer pieces, greater gnarled movement and generally finds more depth as it burns on. “Umbral Spear” is the standout piece in this sense, but also notably reprises the effect of “Catapulted Into Hyperspace” on the previous album wherein a guest guitar solo (this one from G.G. of Cosmic Putrefaction) presents the need for more lead guitar work across the board.

Harder cut, more direct yet acting in extension of their moderately abstracted vision of death metal adjacent muse Nothingness‘ third go of it smartly makes moves in the direction of readable severity, achieving a more impactful reach while retaining the character of their strange brew. Frontloading ‘Godslaughter‘ with chug-happy splatter and finding a doomed-out, weirding back end beyond makes for an entertaining experience overall. Though it doesn’t quite land the level of repeatable profundity I’m after I’d nonetheless appreciated the band’s continual reach for the bizarre “fun” of extreme metal craft without losing their personalized grip upon it. A moderately high recommendation.

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