Nanochrist

Artist Information

Biography

Founded in Toronto in 1998, Nanochrist are a 4-piece electronic metal band in the vein of KMFDM, Fear Factory, and Nine Inch Nails.

"Erase thy Sky", Nanochrist's sixth CD, was recorded and mixed in the band's studio, The TARDIS, in Toronto, Canada in early 2012. It moves away from the dissonance and longer, prog-ish compositions of their earlier albums, evolving into shorter, more concise and digestable songs, without losing any of the complexity, heaviness, and intensity that defines the Nanochrist sound.

Nanochrist was originally conceived by guitarist Mike Bryant as a studio-only project. They made the transition to playing live with the release of their fourth album, "Mythelectronicon". Since then, Nanochrist has played many shows, touring Canada from coast to coast.

"As insane, twisted and bizarre as Mr. Bungle and Strapping Young Lad... Strangely tripping across the edge... suitable for those embarking on a trip to the Twilight Zone." -Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles

Instrumentation

Scworm - Vocals
Mike Bryant - Vocals, Guitar, programming, Kitara
Ciel Strong - Drums
Larry Varvarici - Bass

Discography

Albums:
Nanochrist (1998)
Inataraxia (1999)
Corrode (2001)
Mythelectronicon (2003)
Dead Fiction (2009)
Dead Remixion (2010)
Erase the Sky (2012)

EPs:
Remixelectronicon (2003)

Singles:
Pig Divine (2011)
A Criminal Mind (2011)

Links

• Last.fm
• Facebook
• MySpace

Audio

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Video

Dead Fiction

Photo Gallery

Press

• Dead Fiction Review [+ Show ]
  

  Listening to Dead Fiction, Nanochrist's newest release, was confusing at first. The three opening s... Listening to Dead Fiction, Nanochrist's newest release, was confusing at first. The three opening songs sounded familiar. If the same thing happens to you, though, it's only because you have the same limited release three-song EP I do. The title track, ADSR, and Suffersystem 666--return polished to open the album.
  
  Many efforts to make the purest metal sound can result in something that is all attack and quickly tiresome to the casual listener. Nobody in their right mind asks for Dust in the Wind when they pick up a metal album, of course, but there are means to heaviness across different tempos and instruments.
  
  Nanochrist has no such problem, playing with electronic rhythms and different tempos across this album. You will certainly get the same guy yelling a lot and all the aggression you can expect from metal, but the time the band's (unofficial?) hiatus was definitely not spent twiddling thumbs.
  
  The title track is an example of a fast-hard mix, while ADSR and its possible lyrical Hawkwind reference sits in the middle of the tempo range here. Even Purge starts rather slow and stays menacing, though it doesn't stay down there for long. By the time Racecar racecar rolls to its slow and ear grinding end, I can almost picture this album as one long cigarette that just burned out.
  
  None of the lyrics leave much to be desired. It's all poetry, it works for the medium and certainly seems accessible. You may have to check the booklet to see what it actually says half the time, but this is metal after all.

• Dead Fiction Review [+ Show ]
  

  Nanochrist was born in 1998 in Toronto, Canada as a five piece electro metal band. Taking influenc...
  Nanochrist was born in 1998 in Toronto, Canada as a five piece electro metal band. Taking influences from bands such as Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM and Fear Factory time has taken the band through four album releases before the release of this 'Dead Fiction' CD. According to the biography of this currently quartet, this album "moves away from the dissonance and longer, prog-ish compositions of their earlier albums, evolving into shorter, more concise and digestable songs, without losing any of the complexity, heaviness, and intensity that defines the Nanochrist sound."
  
  The release opens with the title track - 'Dead Fiction'. It's a powerful midtempo track containing Machine Head likely vocals and vocal lines, powerful riffing and tight drumming. The industrial intermezzo is essentially wellplaced. 'ADSR' is a bashing track following walking that path. It consists of diverse drumming, wellplaced sampling and a powerful midtempo attitude accompanied by tight riffing and vocal works. 'Suffersystem 666' is a brutal mix of modern metal and cyber metal, coming with an accessable attitude. It includes diverse vocal lines, powerful though gentle sounding double bass drumming and wellfitting guitar work. The keylines all over the song give it a certain atmosphere. 'The Accidental Masochist' is again a bit more midtempo based, coming with what is probably the best riff of the release (hidden in the chorus) and subtile electro and industrial elements through the sampling and keylines. One of the most accessable tracks on the release. 'Chaos Mirror' is my personal favorite track on this release, providing a powerful though accessible and pretty catchy mix of cyber metal and wave, absorbing both old school and modern influences. It contains straight forward riffing and ditto drumming and diverse vocal lines matching excellently with the samples. 'Balance Unlimited' moves you from wave passages to outbursting industrial metal chorusses and parts. Overall the song has a modern and powerful attitude. 'Exoskeleton' is one of the more brutal songs, mixing cyber metal with electro / darkwave elements. The result is a bashing and trashing industrial metal track. 'Chronodermis' mixes darkwave and electro with old school gothic influences and sensitive vocal lines, to ultimately lead into outbursts on the chorusses. The song structure makes it sound slightly different than the rest of this album. 'Hypersleep' is again more brutal and uptempo, coming with touches of electro metal and cyberpunk. It mixes wicked drumming with tight straight to the point riffing, experimental sampling and wellfitting diverse vocal lines. 'Are You Kidding Me!' is a modern electro metal track coming with excellent sampling, powerful drumming and ditto riffing melted together excellently by the harsh vocal lines. The song also hides elements of darkwave and ambient. To me 'Purge' sounds like a balanced mix of Marilyn Manson (couplets) and Machine Head (choruses) - coming with modern sampling and keylines accompanied by diverse drumming and riffing. The surprisingly cool sounding guitar solo is also worth mentioning. 'Dust' is a bit more experimental - coming with elements from breakcore and cyber metal blended together well with the electro metal attitude that lays all over the entire album. One of the songs you immidiately start nodding your head on. The release ends with 'Racecar Racecar'. It's blessed with a bashing rhytm, strong riffing and diverse vocal lines and samples.
  
  With 'Dead Fiction', Nanochrist delivers a very very very decent album that will apply to a lot of people reading this actual review on this webzine. Fans of the modern uptempo tunes of bands like MXD, MDM and newer MortIIs who have never found the missing link between those bands and more old school stuff like Nine Inch Nails, Swamp Terrorists and even Prong - don't look any further.
  
  Vote: 91 / 100

• Dead Fiction Review [+ Show ]
  

  It's been a number of years since I last heard the robotic, cold mechanical stylings of Toronto's Na...It's been a number of years since I last heard the robotic, cold mechanical stylings of Toronto's Nanochrist. In order to learn more about this band, I decided to buddy up with another Canadian band and ultimately move to Canada in order to better research just what makes Nanochrist tick. This massive journalistic undertaking required dodging Canadian customs officials, among other assorted misdeeds, all in the name of journalistic quality. Granted, I moved to British Columbia, rather than Ontario, because the scenery is far prettier and the weather is much nicer, particularly in the winter. Why Nanochrist stays in Toronto is something that I have not uncovered in my investigations. Maybe that's why their sound was so "cold". But with global warming, Dead Fiction finds the band warming up somewhat to a more "humid" level, which aptly describes summers in Toronto.
  
  Nanochrist used to remind a bit of the bleakest and most technologically chilled aspects of bands such as Voivod mixed with the precision of Fear Factory. Maybe as the band members got older or their cyborg bodies were upgraded to newer, cuddly prototypes, they decided to inject more warmth into their music. Nowadays, Nanochrist is as fuzzy as bands like KMDFM or the long lost Skrew, playing a similar sort of hippie cybermetal music. Okay, so I'm fudging a little on the hippie part. But rest assured that Dead Fiction does not come across like a computer programmed to "Metal Up Your Nether Regions". The band is still ultra precise in their riffs but this collection of songs definitely finds the members loosening their belts and letting their diodes hang out a bit. It fortunately lacks the Drum Trigger Clinic aspect of any Fear Factory album after Demanufacture and features some good songwriting. The band sneaks in plenty of electronics as subtle texture and effects, but big fat chunks of guitar still dominate the proceedings. Those who hanker for industrial tinged metal will find much to enjoy here.
  
  It also should be said that since Dead Fiction ends on a palindrome, it deserves a few more points in my super secret rating system.

• Mythelectronicon Review [+ Show ]
  

  As insane, twisted and bizarre as Mr. Bungle and Strapping Young Lad, Nanochrist employ significant ...As insane, twisted and bizarre as Mr. Bungle and Strapping Young Lad, Nanochrist employ significant amounts of programming overtop hyper-kinetic vocals and industrial guitar patterns. Definitely out there. Elements of Fear Factory are also present as the songs switch from crunchy to swirling at discordant intervals with a plethora of time signatures... Strangley tripping across the edge, Mythelectronicon is the fourth album from Nanochrist. An electromagnetic cyberspace soundtrack with touches of techno, suitable for those embarking on a trip to the Twilight Zone.
  -Aaron Small, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles

Setlist

Set list for August 2010 tour of western Canada:

Exoskeleton
I, Robot
Racecar, Racecar
Pig Divine
Chaos Mirror
Bitter, Self-Absorbed Pap
ADSR
Chronodermis
Hypersleep
Kinda I Want To
Dead Fiction
Screen of Serenity
Are You Kidding Me

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