Nomatrix goes out strong as usual and the song Hate (it) is a really fast song in some kind of Oi/punk-like style. It's their style I've always been attracted to, fast punk with songs that often clock in around 2 minutes. There is no sadness over the group and here I think they have done their best record so far I must say. They have a really nice style and even if it ́s not something new they have invented in music so do they do it with love for fast punk and it feels so typical sound wise as punk should sound when it comes from the British/Irish Isles. Rituals is probably my favourite song on the record because it has a little bit different drive than the other songs that I really like. There are no major rest breaks on the record and I like that. 30 minutes of fast punk songs is what I want and that I get here too. You can't ask for much better from the group because it's as good as the group is. If you've never heard Nomatrix then you have to make a move because it's so fucking good so they can't be missed. 13/11-2024 - 8 Stars

Nomatrix går som vanligt ut starkt och låten Hate (it) är en riktigt snabb låt i någon slags oi/punk-aktig stil. Det är deras stil jag alltid har attraherats av, snabb punk med låtar som ofta klockar in runt 2 minuter. Det vilar inga ledsamheter över gruppen och här tycker jag nog att de har gjort sin bästa skiva hittills måste jag säga. De har en riktigt skön stil och även om det kanske inte är något nytt de har uppfunnit i musikväg så gör de det med kärlek till snabb punk och det känns så där typiskt ljudmässigt som punk ska låta när den kommer från de brittiska/irländska öarna. Rituals är nog min favoritlåt på skivan för den har ett lite annorlunda driv än de andra låtarna som jag verkligen gillar. Det finns inga större vilopauser på skivan och det gillar jag. 30 minuter av snabba punklåtar är vad jag vill ha och som jag får här också. Man kan inte begära så mycket bättre från gruppen för det är så här bra som gruppen är. Har ni aldrig hört Nomatrix så måste ni göra slag i saken för det är så jävla bra så de får inte missas. 13/11-2024

Skrutt Magazine

(DL61) NOMATRIX - Reawaken

I have worked with this lot for many a manky moon, they are good guys and make some good sounds. They are humble, expect nowt and crack on with a glint in the sagacious eye - they know the crack, we are going nowhere but the art is in the doing - this is another release with 16 tracks for me to penetrate with my critical todge - I thrust away and do what I do with respect and honesty - sometimes people agree sometimes they don't, I am doing my bit for bands that matter and fly under the radar, on we go.

We commence with the 'Hate (It)' - a ramrodding rapier of rhythm that cuts to the quick and dices our attention with great aplomb. This initial splash is a keen and eager smash of sonic splattering that Nomatrix do so fuckin' well. Here we have a taste of that which is to come and the reason why I have them booked again for two more forays onto this septic shit-isle. A splendid burst and one that gets the fingers tapping in double quick time and the juices dripping for me. Fuck the flow and make sure you dig deep and make your own awkward direction. The quick counterpunch follow-up is slagged as 'Out Of Frame'. A delicious bass belly-grumble against the wannabe rebels who have been tempered, tamed and tossed off to fuckin 'Dilution-Ville'. This is an old song given a 21st century kick in the globes, it has great whipping life, a fury in all areas and wallops away with an effect that I am happy to be billowed by. Concrete cacophonic conker clobberin' with a fine gusto.

'Monotone Madman' is a veritable beauty, one I can't stop playing. It deals with the paranoid punks, the flatline end result that showcases little progress. The ripping riffery, the directness of the assault and the fist-pump' join in' chorus all have me salivating and the short running time is just a cheery cherry on the cake. Before we know it we are thrown into the repeat brain-melt closure, the urgency to finalise matters hits us, the full stop comes, what a minor pip? Fuck the monotone, fuck the monochrome - splash yer own colour scheme with spirit.

Track 4, 'Shite Talk' - it spills into the lugs from here, there and everywhere - my advice, turn off, walk away, tell the informer to belt up. I have never been one to tolerate small talk or make an effort with twitter-twatter when there is no need to. This is a vicious little perisher that has a good pounding accent and a sweetly acidic splash that burns to the core. Clear, crisp and of course very fuckin quick. 'Rituals' has a fine hollowed feel, that brings to the fore a slightly haunted aspect the band build upon with a song about time wasted on idiot piffle whilst achievements and ambitions are banished. The tortured hollers of 'I Don't Like It, I Don't Need It' touches an eavesdropping nerve, I hate tradition, procedure and routine and piss on it wherever I can. Some deem it as a safety belt, some use it to control and be in charge, it is all a consumption of good energy and productivity. I find this a real emotive belter and another addition to my list of 'Nomatrix' faves. It is rather a long list but I make no apology - I like this band.

I rattle on, 'School Race' is a jackhammer head smash that has a stunning power and no-nonsense gift. The whole educational regime is fine for those who slot in line and swallow crap, it ain't great for those bored by piffle, resistant to shackles and defiant of filling ones head with useless bilge. I love the fury here, it takes me back to a time when school was not an option, the fuckers wanting a puppet on a string, they got a fucked off waster who took many years to settle - thanks for nothing. This is a blistering beauty folks - do not fall into line with any regime or genre. 'There Is No Utopia' deals with the shackled, the dumbed-down, the utterly defeated - you know the ones, 99% of the fuckin' mush baby. This is a sober tune with dead-eyed bass, crisp skin and stick work and a somewhat frustrated edge. The vicious edge is slightly abraded in part and the blend of each area is just a little too contrasting to make for the usual easy Nomatrix listen. Ok, nothing outstanding but the message is bang on the button. Are you activated or did you get deactivated without even knowing it?

The next song is a touching moment and one filled with harsh-reality and an admission of the lunatic lottery. 'Goodbye My Friend' has obvious words, it is the honest and transparent anguish that hits home, the outpouring of a ticker touched by tragedy, the brutal facing up to a fuckin' duff deal. We have all been there, the direct route the band take to expel their emotive angst works a treat and the lead vocalist must be applauded for the overspill here - cracking stuff for a theme with cruel connotations. A change in attack next, 'Reawaken' calmly bass bumbles in, a tight twist is executed via the six-strung weapon of acoustic war. Pressurised head wanking comes, the tension is consistent and the edge bleak - there is no escape, the days flash by, the turmoil inside seems to be endless - this is a heavy duty brain-buster that is best played when the mood is bright. Do not mix medication and this musical moment - you have been warned. 'Like And Follow' is as quick as the attention span of the digitally drained mush who use a potentially positive platform to be a font of all knowledge, feed a fear, soothe the inner needs and of course, to cultivate ones feeling of egocentric superiority. A terse tirade that leaves me little to add - it will keep the 'live' shows moving that is for sure - and that is all I can ever ask for.

Several stamps of the sonic equipment and then 'Agenda' rants and raves against the government (whoever they may be) and all their scheming ways and using and abusing bollocks. Suited and booted people looking to rise above, rule and feed their insatiable self-absorbed appetites - these fuckers are detached, are getting off on their power trip and are making decisions which affect millions but not themselves. They play the game, this sober and sussing tune damns all and throws in something different - a definite grower that soon has the foot tapping and the bollocks of belligerence bouncing. A song close to my heart is 'Goodbye Nature' - a tragic statement that will see the world and the human mush go round the u-bend and flushed to oblivion. The cunts are crippled by side-tracking shittery whilst real life gets clobbered - but ah, all is well they all say, I am living the best life, look at my profile (fuckin' bastards). This is a rushing song that has great flavour, pisses against the con of progression. The hail of 'goodbye' should also include your relatives and loved ones because that will be the ultimate price. A great song, is anyone fuckin' listening though - the pogoing masses are not even bothered - bah.

Delighted, enraged and determined I press on with this fine release and enter the last quartet. 'Alone' has a magnetic riff before calling a halt to the sextet of strings and allowing the quartet of cables to do their thing whilst the front man gives it up for the fuckers who dumb you down and make sure they are the self-appointed Gods of the new warped law that sees many treading on eggshells. I like the almost beaten down approach of this and the 'tired out' affect having to deal with all this negative twaddle. A subtle change and neatly done. 'We Are Fallen' is a long-term fave - a pronouncement, a clatter, a liquid move that will not be halted as it rallies back against the pointless routine that ensnares and takes away many facets and possibilities. I am deeply enamoured by this number, it is etched through with the Nomatrix essences - I have reviewed before so will add little else.

Last two, 'The New Religion' - a stable piece of observational material that sees the many talking, the few walking, the mush all spouting like Gods of sagacious authority whilst all the while matters fall into the maelstrom where a shit pit awaits. Hate reigns supreme, division delights in the dilution - the few remain disgusted. A mix and match moment with emotion carefully tattooed through a song of valued strength and slow-moving persuasion. These numbers with the foot off the gas help accentuate the overall thought-processes and genuine quality of the band. Think on. We close with the unsettled and prophetic 'Dead Wrong'. The state of play and eventual outcome is plastered over every pixelated screen you cast your blinkered peepers upon and despite great preaching and almost plausible words of wisdom there is a deep-rooted recognition that we are fucking each other every which way possible. The controlled angry, despair and passion spills over with a basic chorus that is pertinent and delivered with a damning drive. A piece with greater strength than first realised, a piece that some may say has a dystopian and misanthropic angle, it is a closing number that deals with facts I am afraid to say, have it, wake up, enjoy, change your output.

A fuckin' fine CD this, one with thought, no shying away from matters that are of import and one that is laden with power, good intent and an acidic energy fuelled by an ongoing dissatisfaction and disgust. As the rebels flounder, the main bulk buckles, and the pleasure seekers continue to believe it is all about them, I sign off delighted but equally disgusted - we must continue to walk against the grain and use noise such as this, to inspire.

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