NULLVEKTOR: Marathonmann CD HANDS

NULLVEKTOR: Marathonmann CD HANDS

Nullvektor provide one of the greatest challenges when it comes to reviewing. In a nutshell it’s all too easy to pigeonhole them as a distorted beat, powernoise, Industrial band from Germany, with one-dimensional rhythm patterns tailored for the live club environment.

If we travel back in time ten years or so, there was a breakthrough in the scene where people were starting to get sick of the pretend EBM they were being subjected to at festivals, with sub-par synth-pop masked up as an innovative and futuristic sub-culture of the Industrial umbrella. The reaction to this from some; was to head towards the powernoise stores, lapping up anything that was remotely heavy and with a pulse. The saccharin sweet crappy lyrics and trashy dance finally started to take a back burner.

The downside to this is that the scene became awash with an overload of bands of this ilk and luckily some artists have taken note of this and started to add variation to the barrage of destructive beats; with a real sense of musicianship. Some acts however are still stuck in the past; and unfortunately, Nullvektor are one of them.

Let me get this straight, Nullvektor are by no means bad at what they do. The title track is enjoyable enough and expresses a momentary variant in what is overall a noisy release. Beat after beat swamp this album in a torrid mass of distortion and crushing, unrelenting fury when the volume is turned up and there is definitely a stage for what they do. Whether there is validity in buying ‘Marathonmann’ over any other worthwhile act from Hands Productions’ historic vaults, is the question; and the answer if truth be told, is a resounding no.

6/10