NOTT - Hiraeth

NOTT: Pacific Northwest duo's doom-death masterpiece "Hiraeth" coming via Silent Pendulum Records; new track streaming now

Silent Pendulum Records announces the August 18th release of Hiraeth, the new album by Nott.

Stream the album's first single "Torn," here: https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hiraeth

Pre-order the album, here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/nott-hiraeth

Consisting of only two members – Tyler Campbell and Julia Geaman – Nott summons an all-smothering vortex of doom-death that might best be described as "a scenic tour of bottomless hell pits." With viscous tones, and with tempos ranging from mid-paced to glacial, Hiraeth unfolds like a slow-motion free fall into the abyss.

Despite the velocity, the album is riveting, Punctuated by pick scrapes, bass drops, and Geaman's spirited drumming, tracks like "Torn" capture the attention for the full duration. Reference points include Immolation, Meshuggah, and Ulcerate.

Campbell's vocals tear though the mix like talons through flesh. An early review of the band from Decibel Magazine stated: "The fire on this recording is almost physical... The vocal scourge truly sets this apart."

"As the ominous consumes us all, we descend further unto awe," Campbell bellows on Hiraeth's first single, "Torn." It is an almost ecstatic depiction of a surrender to the void.

The album title, Hiraeth, is a Welsh word with no direct translation, but which Campbell defines as "the longing for what once was, and what you cannot go back to." The title takes on new weight, in light of Campbell's and Geaman's personal stories. The two migrated to their current homes in the Pacific Northwest, by way of Alaska and Romania, respectively. 

Campbell states: "Nott began as a solo studio project up in Alaska with a few DIY EPs. While working on the debut full-length, The Wretched Sounds, I brought the operation down to Seattle with the intention of expanding the project into a band. A few months before the pandemic, Julia and I began working together."

Geaman states: "I was born in Romania and, because things were chaotic in the '90s after Communism fell, we moved to South Africa for 8 years, then finally immigrated to Canada. I remember feeling like I had nothing to do and, after all that moving and chaos, it was suddenly quiet. Maybe I started playing drums to fill that quiet."

Hiraeth's guitars, bass, and vocals were tracked by Campbell at his home studio in Bothell, WA, with assistance from Lance Fohrenkam. Drums were engineered by Matt Roach at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC. The album was mixed by Campbell and mastered by Davide Aroldi. The cover art was created by Kieran Wakeman.

Tracklist:
1) Torn
2) Stasis
3) Null
4) Rend
5) Stare
6) Writhe
7) Hiraeth

Lineup:
Tyler Campbell - guitar, bass, vocals
Julia Geaman - drums

Photo of Nott, by Cole Paramore