...

Someone with much more free time and data visualization skills than I ought to try and map the spread of subgenres. Post-metal might be a good place to start. It's a relatively recent development, so most of its iterations are well-documented. I'm imagining a video that shows a map of the United States, and a year counter. In the 80's it would illuminate Oakland, California and say "Neurosis". Later it would illuminate Boston and say "Isis" and so on.

The point of such a video might be to visualize the way the idioms of these genres spread throughout the globe. this style of music feels pretty thoroughly mapped out by American bands at this point, but has room to grow in other countries. Case in point, Serbia's Нула (Nula), whose first EP, Keнoma we have streaming below. you've probably consumed most of the ingredients they're cooking with before: deep, dry drum sounds, a satisfying midrange guitar crunch paired with a distant, chiming lead tone, songs that focus more on atmosphere and rhythm than melody. Нула's take fixates more on chugging riffs than some of their contemporaries, but otherwise this mountain's bored-out, right?

Maybe not. Vocalist Miloš Milošević's throaty howls and emotive croons convey an admirable sense of drama. Wisely, they put him right at the center of their sound, while most other bands of this ilk would be more than happy to bury their singer in the mix or, increasingly, forego a human voice altogether. If Нула is any indication, styles never completely fade, so long as some talented young people in Belgrade are willing to inject something new into them.

...

...

Keнoma is out 2/24 via Black Bow. Follow Нула on Facebook.

...