The Beast of Nod – Multiversal

I’ll start with a disclaimer: prior to listening to the first single from this record, I had absolutely no idea who these guys were or what they’re all about. I’m not so sure that has changed after listening to the album many times in the last few days. What I can tell you is that The Beast of Nod are serious and earnestly dedicated to crafting a multimedia narrative, of which their records are only a part. For more on their “Land of Nod” mythology, I recommend their encyclopedia. You should also check out “Vampira: Disciple of Chaos”, their first album.

The Beast of Nod presents us with “Multiversal”, the second musical chapter in the Land of Nod saga, which delves into an ancient conflict that forever changed the Nod universe. Multiversal is a concept album packed with excellent technical death metal, neverending guitar licks and so much synth you might think that someone was obsessed with the ‘80s, but in a good, tasteful way. It also features some very special guest guitarists in four of the tracks.

The brainchild of Will “Dr. Görebläster Körpse-härvest” Lunden and Paul Buckley, they pull no punches in terms of songwriting, composition and storytelling. From the very start of ‘Flight of the Quetzalcoatlus’, there’s a sense of grandeur in the music that fits with the album’s concept. Marco Pitruzzella’s delivery on the drums is as flawless as one expects from a drummer of his calibre, but it’s the composition, the sensibility in the counterpoint between frantic heavy riffs and delicate melodies, that really drives the song. Kudos to Dr. Göre for this. With ‘Contemporary Calamity’ the band aims, in my opinion, to represent, or rather chronicle, a defining conflict in the mythos of Nod. As such, it is a frantic song with a half-time chorus that just pounds and pounds, with Paul’s vocal range really on display.

The Beast of Nod – The Latent Threat (click here if the video does not play).

‘Intergalactic War!’ is probably the heaviest song in the record, even though it has what’s probably the mellowest break as well, giving us an excellent exercise in contrast and dynamic range. It might be a trope of the sub-genre but the almost constant guitar “noodling”, the neverending solos under the verses and choruses, is the glue that binds all the somewhat disjointed parts together. ‘Call of the Squirrel’ refers to the Sentient Squirrel Death Machine in the mythos and is a song with some unexpected and delightful gregorian chants, as well as the first special guest. It doesn’t take long to guess that it is the legendary Joe Satriani, with a guitar solo that is as Satrianiesque as it can possibly be. An aptly named track follows with ‘Unleashing Chaos’, a sonic attack with interesting downtempo passages and great guitar work, including a guest solo from Nick Padovani (Equipoise). The melody drives the song, as has been the case with all the songs in the album so far, and that ending is superb. ‘The Plan for Multiversal Creation’ has an orchestral sense, with the main theme being repeated a bit after by Brendan Burdick on the bass. I really liked that. It is another game of contrasts with the slow, pulsating rhythm and the blastingly fast melodies, and then that break with piano and the processed drums before it returns to the main theme. Paul’s gutturals get their time to shine even more on ‘Guardians of the Multiverse’, a song with a heroic main theme and a guest solo by John Matos (Abiotic).

The Beast of Nod – ShRedding OF the Cosmos (click here if the video does not play)

Closing the album we have two remarkable songs. ‘The Latent Threat’ dives straight into the first verse, and Brendan’s bass lines are excellent, outlining and supporting the melodies with a bit of melody of his own. ‘ShRedding OF the Cosmos’ is the odd one, consisting of a constant rhythm that gives a rather sinister vibe to the main theme alongside the slow guttural verses from Paul, establishing an eerie atmosphere for the band to play with and around. It out-heavies ‘Intergalactic War!’ through sheer brutality and almost excessive guitar noodling. For the curious ones, the guitar solos are as follows: Dr. Göre – Sanjay Kumar (Wormhole) – Matias Quiroz (Bleak Flesh) – Michael Angelo Batio – Dr. Göre. It is an excellent song to close the album.

“Multiversal” is a heavy-hitter, a perfectly executed concept. It doesn’t depend on or require previous knowledge of the underlying mythology, but it might get you very interested in it. A solid second album from The Beast of Nod.

Track listing:

1. Flight of the Quetzalcoatlus
2. Contemporary Calamity
3. Intergalactic War!
4. Call of the Squirrel
5. Unleashing Chaos
6. The Plan for Multiversal Creation
7. Guardians of the Multiverse
8. The Latent Threat
9. ShRedding OF the Cosmos