Nonlinear.System.Theory - Fourier's Outrage

Subsound Records

May 15, 2008, 01:06 PM

To say Nonlinear.System.Theory are intriguing would be the understatement of the year. When this album landed at Altsounds HQ it was really hard to know what to expect. I always make a point to give special attention to anything which comes out of Italy, usually because the music scene there is so metal reliant and detached from any of the popular culture which has such a heavy influence over English speaking bands that you usually find it to be something else entirely. I’m going to tick that box for a start: Italian, unique. Now, onto other matters, when you think that a nonlinear system theory relates both to mathematic and physics fields (the whole thing itself is too detailed and above my head to go into) then this band only intrigue more.

It’s hard to know what to say about this band, it almost sounds like metal-core getting high off 80’s synth-pop. Some of the progressions are epic and captivating. It’s hard to tell if there are meant to be vocals or not, some songs have feint traces of vocal lines, other have none at all. It’s not surprising that something so unique has emerged from Italy, the country seems to live epic metal and I’ve also discovered recently has a knack for creating some good electronic music. Nonlinear.System.Theory’s blend of these elements is, at times, ingenious. The hooks are huge and the intensity exerted throughout most of their huge five-minutes plus songs is applaudable. ‘Luigi Ate Damon’ stands out for it’s sampling of the old Mario games. ‘My Shiver’ is an eight minute epic, displaying their knack for not only heavy electro-metal but also a diversity which gives life to some sweeping, epic, ambient like sections. The electronic strings coursing through the background add a chilling feel, before the whole thing erupts into life again. ‘Nonlinear Outrage’ then by comparison almost sounds like a distant Italian cousin of Enter Shikari.

That comparison seems to creep up again a few times throughout the rest of the album, they demonstrate and endorse the feeling for different elements on several occasions. ‘What You Deserve’ is a piano driven epic, once again clocking in at over eight minutes. The piano creeps up on a few more occasions, it’s surprising how well this blends into the sound they’ve already forged for themselves. The spine-tingling strings in closer ‘Buanonotte Mr. Fourier’ are a sound to behold. They then leave you in almost eight minutes of silence, almost reflection time. It makes you think just how good this album became from humble beginnings. Then as if you’ve had enough time to ponder and appreciate ‘Fourier’s Outrage’, you’re introduced to a very distorted vocal singing “old McDonald had a farm...” What more can be said? Truly brilliant, for so many different reasons.