Nothingface was a Washington D.C. based Nu Metal band formed in 1993 and active until 2009. Named after the famous Voivod album of the same title, the band initially formed with vocalist David Gabbard, who was replaced with the then 17-year old Matt Holt in 1995 due to internal disagreements with the band's heavier direction. Their first demo album was released in the same year, with the complete album Pacifier being released in 1996. The album dealt heavily with Holt's child sexual abuse at the hands of his uncle, and received mixed reviews, with many complementing the band's technical abilities but criticizing their clear similarity to Korn. In 1998, the band released An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity, which marked the band's transition into a more original style, with the interplay between Holt's Soprano and Gravel vocal style and frequent use of odd time signatures. Violence was released in 2000 to positive reviews, but sold poorly, with the group's largest charting single "Bleeder" only hitting Number 38 on the Billboard Rock Charts. The group nearly dissolved between 2001-2002, as a result of interpersonal turmoil caused by Holt struggling with drug addiction and his house burning down, Maxwell's mother dying, Houck being forced to leave due to medical issues, and Gaal divorcing his wife. The group regardless released Skeletons in 2003, which featured a broader palette of sounds than their previous releases and explicitly political lyrics before dissolving in 2004. The group reformed later the same year, and broke off from their record label to independently release music online, with Maxwell working with Vinnie Paul of Pantera fame in the super group Hellyeah in the meantime. The group would dissolve again in 2009 due to Holt taking too long to record vocals over the band's completed demo tracks. (Likely a result of being diagnosed with a terminal illness.) He would pass away in 2017, ensuring the group would not reunite. Despite the group's lack of commercial success and obscurity, they are often considered an Ensemble Dark Horse of the Nu Metal genre, alongside the likes of Deftones and System of a Down.
Final Lineup:
- Tom Maxwell (Guitar)
- Matt Holt (Vocals)
- Bill Gaal (Bass, Backing Vocals)
- Chris Houck (Drums)
Other Members
- David Gabbard (Original Vocalist)
- Tommy Sickles (Drums)
- Jerry Montano (Guitar)
Discography:
- Braid (EP) (1994)
- Nothingface (1995)
- Pacifier (1996)
- An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity (1998)
- Violence (2000)
- Skeletons (2003)
- Deftones, Slayer, Pantera, Korn, Alice in Chains, Helmet, Clutch, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Dog Fashion Disco
We came to take control, we came to list tropes regarding this band:
- Alternative Metal
- Black Comedy: Numerous rather tongue-in-cheek and absurdly violent lyrics occur throughout the band's discography, along with song titles like I Wish I Was A Communist and Murder Is Masturbation.
- Capitalism Is Bad: I Wish I Was A Communist and Up In Flames off of Skeletons.
- Concept Album: Not exactly, per se, but many of their records revolved around specific themes.
- Pacifier revolves around sexual abuse and the mental damage it inflicts on its victims.
- Violence has a general theme of betrayal and violence. (obviously.)
- Skeletons revolves heavily around the disaster of the Bush presidency and the planned invasion of Iraq.
- Determinator: Despite being continually sidelined out of any chance at success and abused by their record labels and numerous traumatic events happening to the group's members throughout the process, the group continued to stick together for 16 years, went independent online in the mid-2000s, and only split up as a result of internal conflicts.
- Downer Ending: Holt and Maxwell's very public falling out and the former's subsequent death at a relatively young age.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Braid featured a different vocalist with a vastly different vocal style and sounded very much like Alice in Chains. While AiC remained an inspiration to the band, the influence wearing wasn’t as blatant on any other recordings.
- Metal Scream: Matt Holt bursting into extremely harsh Type 1 vocals (by Nu Metal standards) was a very common occurrence.
- Nu Metal: Generally considered part of the genre, but the absence of rap influences, use of guitar solos and more traditional Alternative Metal playing style made them a contentious issue.
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Matt Holt's vocals whenever he's not performing a Type 1 Metal Scream.
- Protest Song: Most of the Skeletons album features heavy pushback against various political and religious entities.
- Soprano and Gravel: A one-man example with Matt Holt.
- Uncommon Time: Present on tracks such as All The Sin, Machination and The Sick among several others.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Undercut seems to depict a serial killer who murders people as a result of being abused as a child.
- Yarling: Matt Holt's cleans are a fairly downplayed example, but David Gabbard was pretty blatant.
