Nex "Zero" CD

Track 4 Darkthrone cover!!

"Zero" was spontaneously composed and conducted in Necromorbus Studio January 2007, as a result of utter chaos and confusion. Our deepest apologies.
Some of the lyrical content on this album - which the observant listener might notice - is heavily inspired by the works of various Swedish poets, in free translation. This was done in humble awe of a greatness we shall never reach.

Nex seems to be aping the traditional British style of Peaceville doom/death- after a fact. There's a lot of idiosyncrasies to Nex's music which make the root influences hard to identify at first, but after a few tracks with all their swinging drum strikes and waltzy riffs the bits of My Dying Bride or Anathema become much clearer. It seems like the band's trying to trick you half the time; the very strange, sort of shouted vocals, the super echoey and forward production, and, of all things, a Darkthrone cover converted into doom/death style. It's certainly a little weird.
Now let me make it clear that the weirdness doesn't make it very good, as Nex falls into many of the same traps that, say, old My Dying Bride did. The tracks are very still and static, with just a handful of major melodic themes each, making for overlong, meandering songs that lose the listener because there's simply not enough going on to maintain one's attention. It's quite slow, probably about the same as My Dying Bride was at their slowest moments on 'Turn Loose The Swans', and the emphasis on lead guitar work (abstaining from synths entirely) gives an almost funeral doom edge to the music. The melodies themselves aren't bad, but tend to be the pseudo-gothic constructions of most of the Peaceville bands, which has never done anything for me.
It's not really surprising that the best song on this CD is the Darkthrone cover, which is because its running time is constrained and the songs seems to lend itself well to doomification. The other tracks' long running times really do sort of cripple them, especially given how Nex's style of doom is already somewhat rocklike- even moreso than early My Dying Bride. So what you essentially have here are incredibly long songs that are a blend between doom, death, and rock, leaving just about no one satisfied. Truthfully, this album never really goes far enough in one direction; it just kind of treads that same ground for forty five minutes and then shrugs and says "Whelp, we tried."
There's music infinitely more unlistenable than this but I have absolutely no reason to try this again. Nex isn't awful, just very boring and clearly designed for people who just like old UK doom/death. There's nothing wrong with that necessarily, but to be frank Nex just doesn't have the staying power to get to the level that those bands reached. Maybe next time.

Sample: