Nullification ‒ Kingdoms to Hovel Review

Cover art by Ov Exvn Infërnvz.

A lot of metal bands wear their influences on their sleeves, sometimes literally in the form of a long-sleeve t-shirt with 15 logos on each arm. Much rarer are the bands that decide to display influences on their cover art. Such is the case with the debut from Philippines death metallers Nullification, Kingdoms to Hovel. Please to be viewing Exhibit A:

There is no Exhibit B necessary. This is not even remotely an accident, but an obvious homage to one of their primary influences in Morbid Angel. It’s even more apt that the nod is to Gateways to Annihilation, as Kingdoms to Hovel has plenty of that album’s syncopated brutality, and bottom-feeding lurch, and slippery, “cosmic vibe” tremolo riffs. There are certainly other things going on within the album’s brisk 36 minutes, but that touch on the cover art ought to go a long way in letting you know how much you need this album, depending how much you love obviously old school-indebted bands paying obvious homage to their old school heroes.

Nullification’s other sources of inspiration originate from the same era as Morbid Angel. Plenty of moments on the album ‒ such as about midway through the title track ‒ do a bit of a death/thrash beatdown a la Demolition Hammer, whereas songs like “Calamity from the Skies” bring plenty of punch you might get from the less technical Cannibal Corpse records. That’s a good thing. But the Azagthothian vibes and off-kilter solos still find a way into just about every track (also, it should go without saying that the solos, while fun, do not display Trey’s immortal chops). With its brutal 16th/8th patterns and speedy, floating tremolo patterns, nearly the entirety of “Inside the Surreal” could be a cover of an unknown Gateways outtake. Or it would if the the throaty, rage-fueled vocals of Rozel Nikolaj Leaño didn’t give off more of a Leprosy-era Chuck Schuldiner vibe. That’s also a good thing.

That’s about the gist of it. Kingdoms to Hovel is a fun little blend of old school goodness based on a solid approach to starting a new band: only source the greats, and have fun doing so. Nullification naturally isn’t doing anything new and has a few rough edges they could iron out ‒ most notably some drum production issues ‒ but they deliver in the areas of riffs and wicked fury. That counts for quite a lot, level of refinement or originality be damned.