Despite all the controversies within the country in terms of politics, Russia has a booming metal scene. One of the latest to seek to break out internationally is NeverWhere, named after the acclaimed Neil Gaiman book. Attempting to mix styles from pop punk to post-hardcore and adding plenty of alternative metal influence, their new 2 track EP Нигде и никогда (Nigde i nikogda, lit. “Nowhere and Never”) was released in February. As it’s only two tracks, this will be a short review, but something worth writing.
Opener “Слепая игра” (Slepaya igra , lit “Blind Game”) is a strong start, with a good melody and plenty of hooks. It feels as though the vocalist is straining quite a lot to hit the notes of the chorus with the power she wants, but she puts everything into the performance and that in itself is commendable. The melody will stick in your head and, even though you won’t understand any of the lyrics if you’re not Russian, you may find yourself humming along to it randomly during the day. It’s the title track “Нигде и никогда” (translation above) which sticks out though. The track offers a lot more of a poppy rhythm to it, and the band feels natural. The vocalist doesn’t feel like she’s pushing herself further than she’s capable of and NeverWhere have a song that could be a live staple for years to come with this.
Overall, this two-track EP is a nice introduction to NeverWhere’s music and is a good little freebie to download. Keep an eye on these guys as they develop their sound and can carve out their own identity. Check it below.
Opener “Слепая игра” (Slepaya igra , lit “Blind Game”) is a strong start, with a good melody and plenty of hooks. It feels as though the vocalist is straining quite a lot to hit the notes of the chorus with the power she wants, but she puts everything into the performance and that in itself is commendable. The melody will stick in your head and, even though you won’t understand any of the lyrics if you’re not Russian, you may find yourself humming along to it randomly during the day. It’s the title track “Нигде и никогда” (translation above) which sticks out though. The track offers a lot more of a poppy rhythm to it, and the band feels natural. The vocalist doesn’t feel like she’s pushing herself further than she’s capable of and NeverWhere have a song that could be a live staple for years to come with this.
The main weaknesses with the EP, aside from being so short, are in the fact that they sometimes feel like they’re pushing themselves to far while trying to find their own sound. When the vocals are straining to hold notes and maintain the intensity of the rest of the music, it can feel really distracting and threatens to hurt the track’s overall quality – not to mention the potential vocal damage if the vocalist pushes too hard for her own good. It’s something that she’ll improve at if she can apply herself and learn to control her voice in order to get the best out of it, but they shouldn’t try to sprint before they can walk. The production, while solid, still neglects the bass but that’s a constant problem in metal so NeverWhere aren’t exactly sticking out in that respect.
Overall, this two-track EP is a nice introduction to NeverWhere’s music and is a good little freebie to download. Keep an eye on these guys as they develop their sound and can carve out their own identity. Check it below.