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Interview with John, By Rob Davis - E-Metal Reviews I've been wondering about this for a while, how many stimutacs did it take to come up with that press sheet and was Marduk involved in any way? John: I'm glad at least you found the humor in that. Surprisingly, a lot of people took it seriously which I found kind of unbelievable. I figured in a post adult swim world people would realize we were joking and appreciate not having to read another boring ass press release. I actually review CD's for a magazine (www.redefinemag.com) so I appreciate it when bands don't just write the same "we're the most original hard working band ever and we've accomplished so much more than other bands ever dream of" crap. You probably know what I'm talking about. But yes, the stimutacs episode of Sealab 2021 is one of the high points in modern culture. What are your views on the prog scene, do you think it's alive and well or is it on the decline? I'd say it's still on the up although I'm no expert. It seems like Tool touring with King Crimson six or so years ago really gave interest in prog a jumpstart. Then the Mars Volta decided they wanted to out King Crimson, King Crimson which I thought was a cool albeit weird idea. That probably spawned a lot of this neo/psych/prog that's going around. Our longest song clocks in at less than five minutes and there's a total of one guitar solo on hypnopedia that lasts for like fifteen seconds if that. I think we're kind of doing more of a math rock thing than a prog one. I can't say there's much of a prog scene in Seattle right now. There are a few psych prog acts like Green Milk From the Planet Orange from Tokyo and Titan out of Brooklyn that I've been digging on as of late. In a way I'm probably more into those bands because of the psych factor rather than the prog one. I'm the only one in the band who would rate his favorite musical style as "psychedelic". Koala bears just constantly crap rainbows in my brain. It's a strange affliction. I ask because it seems with the bigger "prog" bands, such as Dream Theater, it has ceased being progressive and has been musically stagnant for some time. I've never even heard a Dream Theater song. I know James likes Rush. Has their progitude diminished over the years? I wouldn't know. So has the northwest metal scene been friendly towards NT or are ya'll still getting the name out there? Ummmm, it's weird, I've always made the joke that we're always either too metal or not metal enough. We just don't fit into any established or upcoming genre so people don't know what to make of us. There's a thriving metal scene in town but we're not really a part of it. We're not honestly a part of any scene. I'm not complaining though, we've played with a ton of good bands and accomplished a lot more than most. Bullshit ideology would tell you that being original is a positive thing but in reality people are hyper conformist. I'm sure if we were jumping on the stoner/doom metal bandwagon our calendars would be booked for months. What kind of plans do you have for the immediate future; touring, recording, and the like? We've got four songs for the next disc written. Hopefully it'll be out by next summer. We'll make sure you get a copy. As for touring, we want to get out of town again soon but finances are holding us back a bit at the moment. We've lost money every time we've left the greater Seattle area. Optimistically speaking, by the time our next disc drops we'll at least make it up and down the west coast. With such intricate music how long is the writing process, does everything come quick and naturally or is it a slight pain in the ass? Well, they basically write the music and then I kind of tack on the vocals after the fact. Some tracks come easier than others. As far as the vocals go, some songs I can get done in a couple of hours and others take months of tweaking. Any last words for potential fans? While on the surface we might seem like another ordinary band from Seattle, in actuality we're a living manifestation of the ancient discarnate entity Cthon. Listening to our music can potentially prolong and exaggerate your orgasms to such an alarming extent that your previously held belief systems will suddenly appear disturbingly inadequate. As you struggle to come to terms with this new cosmology of intergalactic macro consciousness, remember to send us your money as a kind of a burnt offering. Cthon loves cash………………………and drugs………………………and pussy. If you can send us pussy through the mail that'd be awesome. Interview with John, By Rob Davis - E-Metal Reviews Visiškas nihilistinis post-pankas iš Sietlo. Užveža - visiškam pochuizmui... Net nežinau ką daugiau pasakyti. Tipinis Sietlo saundas, tik žymiai sudepresintas, vedantis nežinia kur... Nirvanistams turėtų patikti. Muzik Alutis, Lithuania So here we have what I believe is the second full length release from a Seattle act called The Nemesis Theory. This quartet plays an interesting, if not entirely metal-oriented, blend of jarring post-hardcore structures and transcendent melody. Though their pretentious air might put some listeners off, those with a taste for this style and some tolerance for artsy bluster will find outstanding individual performances and some passionate songwriting on Hypnopaedia. Now, I generally hate to belabor aesthetics and lyrics amongst metal or hardcore bands of any kind, but these guys have honestly managed to irritate me. From their predictably quirky song titles ("Enron Hubbard," which is admittedly pretty funny) to their website's proud declaration of the band's college experience to their prolix, ambiguously anti-capitalist lyrics, The Nemesis Theory seem almost embarrassingly self-conscious about their attempted 'art rock' status. Fortunately, these irritating details are outshone by an impressive array of aggressive but catchy songs. The tracks are built on nervous, punchy These Arms Are Snakes-type rhythms and topped off with desperately melodic guitar work that combines the confessional honesty of Envy with the frantic complexity of British late greats Beecher. The bass work here is especially impressive; I don't know this guy's name, but his bass lines are just as rhythmically nuanced as the guitar work while retaining a powerful bond with the drummer's rolling, chaotic grooves. The vocals are a mite too catty and nasal for my tastes but they manage to substitute a sort of delirious singing for the expected ranting screech. Though I can't advocate this band to the majority of Metal Review's readership, I think there is certainly a niche audience out there who will dig this band….assuming they can get past the faintly ridiculous pretensions to intellectual import. Good—but hardly great—songwriting shows solid potential for improvement for The Nemesis Theory, but these guys need to ramp it up a lot to achieve real memorability. Doug Moore, E-Metal Reviews The Nemesis Theory decorated the Hypnopedia CD with a watercolor-ish depiction of a couple standing American Gothic-style, looking directly into the eyes of future listeners while cradling oversized lumpy bugs. The surreal imagery of the art is a fairly accurate preview of the music to come. Often seething and angry, lyrics clime primal screams, collapse in desperate resignation, and occasionally stumble towards outsized ambitions of hyper-literate metal while heavy guitars throb in the grimy background. Joshua Bis, Seattle Sound Magazine An interview where John speculates why Sealab 2021 failed to fully emphasize the benefits of a stimutacs addiction One of the stupid genres that came out of the Deftones’ Grammy win earlier this decade was “art-metal” and of course the press, like the sheep we are, ran with it. Like other ambiguous genres such as emo and trip-hop, art-metal is pretty much an all-purpose adjective to describe heavy rock bands with multiple influences that you can’t quite pin down. If I were a lazy writer, The Nemesis Theory would fall into the art-metal pit of confusion. Their frantic album Hypnopaedia carries varied influences such as These Arms Are Snakes, Queens of the Stone Age, Dillinger Escape Plan and Hot Snakes. The album’s centerpiece, “Bukkake Epidemic,” is probably the best song on this album as it dives into a clusterfuck of off-time parts, inaudible vocals and the best song title ever. Hypnopaedia, as a whole is highly political, not unlike Public Enemy or Black Flag, yet much of what is said is bogged down by chaotic song structures, the double bass and cool song titles (“Autumn On The Empire” and “Enron Hubbard”). Yes, The Nemesis Theory may be as arty as a college sophomore with a beret, but they also rock too... and isn’t that really the essence of art-metal? -Reviewed by: Ryan Pangilinan -Redefined Magazine These guys are strange. I'd even go as far as calling them crazy. Musically they're all over the place mixing progressive metal with post punk and spazz-core, which in the end makes an album that is quite original, but that isn't saying that I am a fan or anything. -Past and Present Webzine "**** Really Good It sounds like a post-hardcore band trying to play prog, or something like that. Musically, it’s interesting. The vocals have a bit of an emo tint at times, which normally puts me off, but it works here. They remind me of a cross between Dainami and Technician, two bands most of you have never heard, but which I enjoy a lot." -Anonymous review -http://pmx2.krose.org/forum?action=view&forum_id=1&message_id=46868 "Prog, one of those genre's that is real hit and miss. For the most part this one is a hit with some minor problems. What this disk has going for it is the fact that it is technical without pissing contest passages, catchy without any musical wankery and other problems that generally plague prog. Unlike a lot of prog out there this is music with a purpose and not just musical masturbation. The vocals can be a little annoying at times or out of tune and sometimes the bridges are slightly awkward but generally the music sorts itself out fairly quickly. All in all fans of good prog have something to look forward to with this band. :) -RD - E-Metal Reviews "I fear for the sanity of some people. Really, I do. The bottom line is this: listening to Hypnopaedia is hardly supposed to be fun. If head-banging, loud drums, thick guitars, and testosterone-fueled yelling for the sake of making noise, is your idea of good prog-influenced metal, do not buy this album. However, if you’re brooding and socially aware, with a ridiculously extensive vocabulary and an angry view of the world, or do a whole crapload of drugs, by all means, buy this album. Musically, the album is essentially no different than any others in its genre. With an other-worldly feel of flat eeriness, lighter drums, heavy bass, and fast-moving lead guitar, and the occasional bizarre sound effect, it’s nothing new to the ears and bores quickly. Although their one redeeming quality are a few ethereal-sounding notes very rarely thrown in by a trumpet. Do not expect to be impressed by originality because there is none-instrumentally, that is. Lyrically, they’re on an entirely different plane of existence. Delivered by haunting rambling vocals, the band’s wordplay is an assaulting, linguistic head-trip of anger and societal discontent. Their influences include a background in bio-engineering, dreams involving other-worldly entities, and chance unconsciousness caused contamination by a crazy breed of man-made bacteria. I kid you not. The results are densely poetic and abstract lyrics expressing feelings and opinions that require an incredibly open and philosophical mind to interpret and ponder, sometimes with a dictionary in hand. Commentary is sometimes fairly straightforward, but no less weighty: “your drunken dissertation on anti-humanism fell on deaf ears/The convoluted logic of societal conformity rendered it inaudible.” But many times, especially in context, is completely beyond all comprehension: “Is transcendence justified or a subjective luxuriance?/This incoherent terminology/Relates in complex metaphors/Devise a lexicon of abstract incantations/Then navigate to the source.” ...What? The prime source of entertainment in listening to Hypnopaedia comes from trying to make sense out of their mess of ridiculously abstract lyrics (if you live in another dimension, or just like that sort of thing). Or, if you’re an average humanoid, just being completely baffled by their nonsensical ramblings." Kristen Brown. -CD-Reviews.com "Progressive metal that up-arms itself with technical prowess and a desire to write loud abrasive insane songs. “Hypnopaedia” makes no sense, it jumps from funky bass prog-rock to spazz to alternative rock. It’s like Mike Patton in a bottle or something. Imagine a Mr. Bungle, Primus, and Dillinger Escape Plan with a vocalist who likes to sing and talk crazy. Loud, feverish, and mind-blowing, the Nemesis Theory may have escaped from a mental ward." - J-Sin, smother.net "Brutal post punk with a sharp metallic edge." -The Stranger "if you weren’t in high school when you recorded this, then you're absolutely terrible. I like the songs and the vibe. the lyrics seem a little too easy, but it might be right if you give it to people who are younger than you." -some guy named lostear on Redfizz.com Conrad Uno of Egg Studios says: "The most accessible crazy shit I've ever heard." Redefine Magazine says: I opened my front door expecting nothing more than a sunny Seattle morning, and was greeted by a small, brown package resting sideways on my welcome mat. Devoid of all expectations, I ripped open the packaging to find Eschatology by The Nemesis Theory. No press release. No helpful information. Nothing. Having never heard of this band, I found myself even more in the dark than I was before opening the package. The name of the album is Eschatology, a branch of theology focusing exclusively on death, judgment, and the future and eternal state of the soul. The album art is simple: black and white, with an image depicting a desperate, frail, and withered old man with his head cradled in his hands, as if pain and a killer headache were the only two things he knew. Much to my satisfaction, I was right. The first thing to come in is a simple bass line, joined shortly by driving drum work and powerful vocals that swing freely from a whisper to a scream, from aggressive and driving to soft and emotional, and to many things in-between. The lyrics are almost always poetic, intelligent, and very well done. Nothing detracts, and everybody seems to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The bassist, guitarist, drummer, and singer are all equally strong and compliment each other in creating a beautiful equilibrium. More than anything else, the music truly seems to create the sense of struggle and desperation that the cover art suggests in a way th at words cannot; it is a beautiful musical representation of mans reaction to his own curse: mortality. However, there are no instant classics. There are no songs that will become stuck in your brain for days after a single listen. But the songwriting is strong and, to truly appreciate this album, it must be listened to as exactly that: an album. Each song is merely a stroke of the painting that is Eschatology, and it is a painting that will grow on you like facial hair on a Jewish hippy. It gets better over time. It is to the world of music what wine is to alcohol, and because this is their first release, I am looking forward with utmost enthusiasm to what the aging process will bring in the future. Although The Nemesis Theory has a great deal of room for improvement, they are a very strong and original group of musicians who, if they focus on and improve their strong points, will only continue getting better as time goes on. They are definitely worth checking out and, if I had to sum up Eschatology in one sentence, it would be this: What they intend to do, they do. REVIEWED BY NATHAN JEFFREYS. The Blue Moon says: "The Nemesis Theory will hit you harder than Mr. T" Interview with The
News Tribune Tacoma John Gillanders’ lyric sheet reads like a self-help/survival
manual for a particularly mortifying Philip K. Dick future. The Nemesis
Theory frontman’s snarled, verbose provocations add even more personality
to a populist math-metal attack that lurches like a truncated Tool. The
self-released Eschatology is a promising, bleak debut. Funhouse, 9:30
p.m. $5 |