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Buried Treasure Inside a Barbarian Test Tube

Posted in Buried Treasure on September 1st, 2010 by JJ Koczan

In thinking of what kept me from checking out Nitroseed for so long, the only thing I can come up with is the name, which smacks of nĂ¼-metal in a way that undercuts the band’s sound. The album art for their only full-length to date, Molt, doesn’t do much either to dispel the impression, so perhaps without knowing the parties involved or the kind of rock Nitroseed actually get down with (the rockin’ kind), I let superficialities get the best of me. What a jerk.

Nonetheless, I finally picked up Nitroseed‘s Molt, at the recent Earthride show in NYC. The band’s name was one I’d been hearing for years — bassist Rob Hampshire also plays in Earthride and Gary Isom, who drums on Molt, has been with Spirit Caravan, Valkyrie, Pentagram and at least a dozen others over the course of his career — and may or may not have seen them in or around Maryland at some point and just not bought the album, but however it came about that I didn’t own the album, it was a situation easily-enough rectified with $10. Money well spent.

On Molt, Nitroseed offer 10 tracks all within the three-to-four-and-a-half-minute range of straightforward instrumental heavy riff rock, with some highlights to be found in the tone of guitarists Shane Balloun and Tucker Orr, who on “Combined Forces” — appropriately enough — emit a groove worthy of Karma to Burn‘s Americana-gone-distortion and find it backed up by the capable hands of Hampshire and Isom, whose strength as a rhythm section lives up to their collective pedigree. The band self-released Molt in 2006, and if it was going to turn into the shape of Heavy to come, it probably would have by now, but Nitroseed still have plenty to offer instrumental buffs or riff-obsessives, as it’s essentially a showcase for the quality of the performances it contains.

Most of the material on the album could have just as easily had vocals, and apparently Nitroseed agrees, since their newer material reportedly features them. Isom has also since left the band and been replaced by Woolly Mammoth‘s Phil Adler, so when their second album materializes it will most likely find them in different shape than does Molt, if the ensuing four/however-many years wouldn’t have already. Still, as a means for getting introduced to the band, I’m glad to have picked up the record and glad I can finally say my catalog boasts an album with a track called “Gut Butt” on it. That’s got to be worth something.

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