NOVA EXPRESS

This is outstanding instrumental music from France. I would describe their music as dark, complex Avant-garde music with the drums and bass being the most upfront in their sound. Bob Drake from THINKING PLAGUE recorded, mixed and mastered this album. He and band mate Mike Johnson get a thankyou in the liner notes, as well as PRESENT's Roger Trigaux. A good comparison to NEBELNEST's sound would be GUAPO's "Five Suns" album. A real bonus for me on this album is the abundance of mellotron.

In "Blackmail" the drums are outfront and leading the way while the bass and guitar are simply outstanding. Check out the mellotron though ! Some great atmosphere to this song too. Amazing 9 1/2 minute opener. "Stimpy Bar" is incredible as the mellotron absolutely soaks this song. Interesting sound early then the drums come pounding in with the bass. I like the way the guitar plays over top. The drumming is ridiculously good. It settles before 3 minutes and when the mellotron floods back in after 3 minutes and it reminds me of the great ANEKDOTEN. It brightens somewhat after 4 minutes then the mellotron storm returns. Incredible !

"Redrum" might be the best track on here. It has a spooky intro with lots of dark atmosphere. Mellotron waves blow in before the drums start to pound away. Bass and guitar join in the fray. Some fat bass here. More mellotron 4 minutes in as it calms down some. Killer drumming 5 1/2 minutes in and another calm a minute later. Check out the mellotron 7 1/2 minutes in as it pulses. The bass is huge as the guitar plays over top. ANEKDOTEN comes to mind here as well. I'm not worthy ! "Cinema 1920" features relentless drums and raw sounding guitar. Oh yeah and some growly bass. Keyboards in this one too. The title track is the 15 1/2 minute closer. It opens with an ominous 2 minute intro. That melody stops then different sounds come and go including some weird noises. Drums and a melody return after 4 minutes. Mellotron before 5 1/2 minutes with some nice bass. Check out the drumming that follows ! The guitar makes some noise 6 1/2 minutes in then turns angular. Mellotron 8 minutes in. The song continues to go back and forth. It's chaotic 12 minutes in. This is such a ride. Actually the whole album is.

This is such a find for me, it's dark and heavy with mellotron. What more could you ask for ?