There has to be a segment of you miscreants out there who are looking for a band who makes Dimension Hatross era Voivod sound warm and fuzzy as a little kitten. The good news is that I've come across Nanochrist, who rank somewhere around three above on the Kelvin scale with their musical warmth. Coincidentally hailing from Canada, who also store away those boys in Voivod, Nanochrist is a three piece who have come up with a very machine oriented style that is neither purely metal nor industrial, but a cold and calculating alloy hybrid of the two.

Believe it or not, even through all this binary data and mechanical feel, X^9 is a solid record that offers more than its fair share of good ideas finding efficient execution. A good percentage of the album is instrumental in nature, with the misanthropic and occasionally highly humorous vocals and lyrics of Scworm being snarled and rasped at you in a style that comes relatively close to Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell, only lacking the cuddly nature of Mr. Thirlwell. It's obvious that despite the inhuman elements of the record and technological feel, the three members of the band have their tongues firmly pressed against their cheeks, as song titles like "Die, Tribute Band, Die" or the self effacing "Bitter, Self-Absorbed Pap" both demonstrate. The music is excellent throughout the album. The production is unfortunately a bit subdued and restrains the calculated chaos of their music somewhat, but it is still strong enough to allow the concepts to ring through with ease. Drum programming, eerie synth effects and mechanical samples infiltrate the music, which tends to be a base of distorted guitar riffing. But as a couple of the lengthy instrumentals show ("Big Felching G Something 9000" or "Bite the Wax Tadpole"), there is an underlying atmospheric strength that shows the true talent of the band. The musicians show a good understanding of song arrangement and build within their songs.

Nanochrist should most definitely appeal to fans of midlife Voivod as well as people who appreciated the heavier, colder aspects of Skinny Puppy.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 01/2001

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If one thought Nanochrist's first release, X^9, was technologically cold and mechanical, one will find that apparently the thermostat was set ten degrees colder for the followup release, Inataraxia. The album contains two sprawling, cold and calculated pieces that last for nearly fifty minutes of alloy and silicon listening. The first track alone covers six parts and lasts for over twenty-six minutes. The second song is a tad fuzzier and warmer, but Nanochrist still evokes images of Voivod with less ambient warmth. The robotic singing approach, the precise drum programming and ultra-emotionless production do wonders for creating and sustaining a mood throughout the record. To a degree, the band may be asking a lot of their listeners to follow them through the two extremely long songs. The sprawl is a bit to assimilate, even over the course of quite a few listens. The musicianship is quite good and very fitting for the concept of the album. For people who haven't heard Nanochrist, their debut is still the best place to start before one tries to work his way into the coldness of this release. Moreover, fans who miss the technology aspect of mid-era Voivod should find comfort in knowing another Canadian band has seemingly taken up the torch.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 02/2001

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Already releasing their third release, Toronto's cybernetic trio of Nanochrist continues to progressively become more robotic and colder to their listening audience with Corrode. Those who found either of the band's first two releases to be difficult due to the mechanical chill will definitely find Corrode a daunting prospect. The album is not very far removed from the sound of last year's Inataraxia but the vast majority of it is presented in such a way that it will take even the most ardent listeners several attempts to digest matters. The production this time around makes the echoes and ambience sound considerably more coated in liquid nitrogen and makes Corrode sound as though it was recorded by mechanical replicants rather than happy-go-lucky Canadians. The latter half of the CD does let up the repressive nature of the music and makes the listening experience a little less Artic. However, the music never strays far from the idiom set by the band's first two releases.

Corrode is a good followup for these Toronto boys. However, Nanochrist is the type of band who will appeal to those who thought Voivod were a bunch of kitten and puppy petting softies on Dimension Hatross. If you like your music cold, calculated and derived from computer nerd thought processes, you definitely need to put away your AI programs and get ahold of this band.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 11/2001

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