Sun Of Nothing are a band that take their time building up a body of work before each release. Not only has this lead to an admirable legacy of longevity, (they’ve been hammering crowds since 1999) but also a density in their work that others just can’t help but commend. The new record Maze is another excellent demonstration of this, the last album The Guilt of Feeling Alive, was released a measly 14 years ago, and despite upheavals in their home country of Greece, as well as some lineup changes they have managed to get this massive slime encrusted slab of maddening post-metal of otherworldly origins out for their voracious listeners.
Maze starts as it means to go on, the first track ‘Liars in Wait’ immediately hits with a melancholy dirge, that is so imbued with energy you might mistake it for eldritch witchcraft. The drums are technical yet clear, whilst the bass provides a pleasing thump throughout, the low end in particular suited to the slightly lo-fi tone the album seems to be going for. Over the top of all this is the wailing of a man locked away for a hundred years, left to his own saddening manic thoughts, driven gradually insane from the isolated atmosphere this album conjures.
“It is a testament to the willpower, want and need to create something of meaning for themselves, and for the fans who so eagerly hang on the music.”
Sun Of Nothing manage to go from strength to strength with each track it becomes more and more clear why and how the album took so long to produce, record and master. The layering has a fog-like density, which only the highest of high beams can break through. Blistering blackmosphere abounds through the 36 minutes of lengthy track after lengthy track (a symptom of the genre, but perhaps the only gripe with the record). Despite that they manage to remain (mostly) entertaining and gripping, dragging you by the hair from one riffy idea to the next, all the while painstakingly blasting the ear drums with the distressingly depressing vocal style, rapid fire drumming and bleak atmosphere.
Despite the challenges this band regularly faces they still have no qualms producing a fine hunk of nasty screechy, poundy, grimly blackened metal. It is a testament to the willpower, want and need to create something of meaning for themselves, and for the fans who so eagerly hang on the music. This is one of those acts that won’t be going away any time soon, even if they do take another 10 or so years to bang out their next record, it’ll be worth the wait, and worth the time to sit and digest it thoroughly in all its myriad layered madness.