New Model Army

From Here

earmUsic Tribal rockers serve up an icy-cold brew.

This album was recorded on the tiny Norwegian island of Giske, and it sounds like it. Later-period NMA has become fascinatingly bleak and sparse, the sound of greybearded old warriors singing folk tales around the campfire while a black wind howls all around them. The ragged rasp in frontman Justin Sullivan’s voice perfectly complements doomy ballads like Never Arriving, Hard Way and Setting Sun. As the song titles suggest, there are few glimmers of light on this album – the eight-minute title track is especially morose (‘Repeat after me, I am the master of nothing’), but it all adds up to a hypnotic swirl of captivating darkness. ■■■■■■■■■■ sleazegrinder