Nullset – Review

Nullset

(Grand Royal)
by Scott Hefflon

Formerly Gangsta Bitch Barbie, I imagine Mattel’s alleged “cease and desist” (more like, a “Jesus, is that the best band name you yahoos could come up with?”) was a blessing in disguise. Nullset is a perfectly acceptable band name for a band from my backyard. So are Godsmack (the world’s most overrated tribute band) and Powerman 5000 (where does one start to make fun of those bozos?), so perhaps this area is rife with bad metal bands. Then again, someone recently said, “Dude, you live in the same city as Roadsaw, Lamont, Scissorfight, Honkeyball, and Quintaine Americana? Shit, that must rule!” so I guess ya never really appreciate your own hometown… Or yer one of those support-your-local-scene whiners who gushes over every semi-talented halfwit in town with the “courage” to emote bad poetry or whack at an instrument and “lay it all out there” when no one ever asked them to in the first place.

Nullset is pretty straightforward rap metal, but at least they draw influence from the first Rage Against the Machine and not their latter-day bastard offspring. Evidently, their claim to fame is that they’re live-sounding, and that matters cuz most of that stuff is so overproduced it sounds great until you get past the roar and realize there’s not a damn thing going on, much less anything going anywhere. So by stripping it down, you get a good strong whiff of Nullset’s sweat, and seeing as they don’t wear funny costumes or sport bad haircuts, yer getting honest sweat.
(www.nullset.tv)