NIGHTMARER
Seasoned metal pros unleash a traumatising vision
Borne of hellish, psychewrenching fever dreams, Floridian avant-death crew Nightmarer’s debut album, Cacophony Of Terror, is pitch-black and twisted on every level. Comprising former members of The Ocean, War From A Harlot’s Mouth and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, their blending of myriad grim influences has led to a distinctive sonic nastiness that few can match right now. As guitarist Simon Hawemann confirms, the album’s title was inspired by one very specific and traumatising subconscious horrorshow.
“I woke up to an extremely loud and piercing noise, coming from outside,” he recalls. “I got up, opened the balcony door and stepped outside. I lived on the 17th floor at the time and had a great view over the skyline. The sky was fiery orange and filled with thousands of people just falling straight from it. The shrieking noise was them collectively screaming at the top of their lungs. Inevitably, they started smashing into the ground, so the sound of breaking bones ripping through flesh mixed with the screams made for a true cacophony of terror. Then I actually woke up.”
A rampaging onslaught of deeply warped riffs and perverse atmospherics, Nightmarer’s music provides a very fitting soundtrack to those horrifying mental images. It also deftly taps into that liberated but nihilistic strain of death metal that has enjoyed a significant upsurge in recent years, but without sounding in debt to anyone in particular. Above all, Cacophony Of Terror was designed to make us feel deeply uncomfortable. Do have nightmares, eh?
“Our musical delivery is all about tension,” Simon concludes. “Our main inspiration is the dark and twisted side of the human psyche. We’re trying to create a vibe that is uncomfortable and eerie. Dissonant intervals automatically create tension. It’s hard to escape from that as a listener. You either love it or hate it, but it will evoke a more intense reaction than tonal music by default. We call it ‘Total dissonance worship’.”