Fall of Nox 'Hysterics' (review, Hardcore)



Man, I’ve been trying to get to Fall of Nox and many other bands for months, but sadly loosing my Dad to COVID put a major stop on everything. I gave Thom my word, so it is something I’m sticking by. This will be one of my final reviews for Mosh Nerd before it becomes a podcast/radio show. 

Fall of Nox dropped debut EP ‘Hysterics’ back in May and it’s a solid release, which if you like hardcore, you will want to check out and stay up on what they have coming in the future. Right from the start, this is played well and is like a mix of 90s hardcore with a backing of southern metal to complete the sound. I think it works and gives a different layer. Blues Breaker from some years back did a rad mix of blues and hardcore, not sure if they are still active, probably not. Anyway, pretty cool when bands do a mix and present a heavy presentation drawing from influences outside the box. No sitting in comfort zones with Fall of Nox.

The title track Hysterics is a strong opening, which hooks your ears. Thunderous riffs, good change of vocals from angry to clean. Has me thinking of the classic 90s and early 2000s bands. 

Orange continues adding the 90s flavour and has a very metallic feel with a strong southern vibe. An infectious song and I enjoyed it a lot. Well, I like the whole EP, not much hardcore I don’t like though! I can see already Fall of Nox drawing in folks from both hardcore/punk and metal scenes. I’m guessing people may or may not have labelled the band under a guise of different genres, but imo, simply metallic hc with an obvious southern draw coming through. It makes Fall of Nox appeal to a wider spectrum. Sure, my preference is fast, raw, angry styles with hardcore, I still enjoyed Hysterics and would listen to it again. There are enough mosh parts and heavy riffs to encourage pits and sweating, well ok, maybe awhile before we can do that again safely. I guess shadow boxing moshing will have to work for now. ‘Values’ is a prime example with chunky mosh parts, nice breakdowns, and big butt riffs.

MWS is another pit song for running around to at high speeds and falling everywhere. Very enjoyable song demonstrating the strong riffing throughout the whole EP.

Big Bones, 90s/early to mid 2000s feel with bad ass breakdowns to get you moving and shitting yourself profusely. Really has the feels, one of those sure fire mosh tracks. 

Reaching the end of the EP and Fall Flat closes out Hysterics. Fall of Nox certainly don’t fall flat and close off with a solid conclusion, just like how they started. Thunderous, hard hitting, strong, and catching the ears. The guitars are very strong and flow with Thom’s vocals nicely. 

The music on the entire EP is played to a very high standard and Fall of Nox have obviously invested some considerable time in creating a ‘non filler’ EP to introduce people to their sound. It something that can be built upon and developed further with future eps and albums. 

The sound is clean, but not too clean where it loses the heaviness, and Fall of Nox keep the hardcore vibe in place. There are a number of other influences as I mentioned, especially southern metal, which is a constant in the background and riffing. However, Fall of Nox don’t lose their identity as a hardcore band and maintain that basis despite the other sounds contributing to Hysterics

I found Hysterics to be an enjoyable EP and one I’d listen to again, and play on the future Mosh Nerd podcasts. They would have been in rotation on my former radio shows. 

I’ve never been able to get a rating system in place other than ‘yeah this will make you shit yourself’. Well, it’s one of the last reviews before Mosh Nerd transitions to a podcast. So, I’m not going to break tradition. Fall of Nox are another band able to make you shit yourself and discharge more water from your arm pits than a super soaker gun. Go pick up a copy of the EP, turn it up loud, drown out the shitty ass aerobics tunes from your neighbours doing shitty step up crap.

90s metallic hardcore with a southern edge. Good shit.
https://fallofnox.bandcamp.com/album/hysterics-ep

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Mosh Shinobi is an independent YouTube channel featuring Ninja/Samurai, martial arts, and action movie content.
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