Review NONEXISTER ‘Demons’

‚Demons‘, that’s the title of Nonexister’s debut album that hits the shelves these days. The band is the brainchild of Marco Neeser and Nik Leuthold. Both guys have a different musical imprint that goes from electronic sounds to punk rock and after running into each other on several occasions, the duo decided to start a new outfit. Nonexister was born and started to exist.

The band’s debut features eleven songs and what you get to hear is dark end melancholic. ‘Demons’, as the title indicates, isn’t an album about happiness and colorful meadows with butterfly. Instead, the songs on this debut are a deep-dive into the human soul and the connected abyss. The opener ‘Your Pain Up my Veins’ reflects the overarching theme well with the heavy riffing and the screams full of despair and anger. Together with a hypnotic beat, reminding of a ticking clock, the first song on this release is a well-chosen starting point that gives an idea about what to expect from this longplayer, also since ‘Yiur Pain Up My Veins’ was the first song the band wrote.

Atmospheric and at the same time reflecting a heavy load on the human soul is the basic vibe of this innovative release. While listening to the songs I had to think a few times of bands like The Young Gods and their ‘T.V. Sky’ album. But there are also post-rock elements included, represented by ‘Drowning in the Void’.

Also to mention is ‘Where Does Your Mind Go’. The calmer song has a certain depth and comes with a lyrical concept that addresses ‘isolation’. Written in the days of the pandemic the tune deals with the effect of isolation and it is a gloomy journey to explore.

The heaviness of Nonexister is returning in songs like ‘Head in a Hole (Valérie Bacot)’. It is a dramatic one, telling the real-life story of the revenge of an abused woman.

‘Demons’ is a dark and intense release that grows over time. The songs need space to unfold their emotional element. With each time listening to ‘Demons’, the demons of one’s soul demand more attention, pulling you deeper into the songs of Nonexister’s first release.