NUL. A brilliant and unique supergroup.

 

I love it when I gain new ideas simply from going through previous blog posts that I've made. This particular idea also tied into a specific phrase that I wrote, specifically about the end of something making way for the rise of another. As a big fan of D'espairsRay and HIZUMI, the announcement of his new supergroup got me very excited as I had missed him since D'espairsray disbanded. Without further ado, let's dive into today's topic, NUL. 

Way back in 2011, D'espairsRay sadly disbanded. Following the disbandment, HIZUMI left the music industry in order to focus on UMBRELLA, his design company. During his time spent away from the music scene, HIZUMI hung out with Abingdon Boys School programmer, Toshiyuki Kishi and they often drank together. They knew each other as Kishi had previously produced some D'espairsray albums and enjoyed the process. During their get-togethers, they spoke about music and brought up the possibility of staring a project together. At first they just did it for fun, but eventually they decided to make the project official as it'd be a waste to keep their musical experimentation to themselves. They thought that they were missing a key element, a guitarist. Fortunately, HIZUMI was good friends with MASATO, the talented guitarist of the band defspiral. HIZUMI and MASATO had been friends since the 2 toured the US together back in 2008 as touring a foreign country made the pair grow closer. They discovered that they shared many things in common such as a shared love of photography. MASATO had previously told HIZUMI that he'd be up for making music together one day and HIZUMI, knowing that he needed a guitarist asked him if he'd want to join the project. MASATO agreed and was beyond happy. This would complete the line-up. The group thought that adding a bassist and a drummer would be too common and that by remaining a trio, they'd stand out more. The band's name came to HIZUMI whilst he was walking outside. He researched the name and thought that it was a good fit as it meant staring from zero. It also applied in the sense that the supergroup's style of music doesn't apply to other bands and that for a band that wants to create something new, it was perfect. 

It's hard to place the band's music into a specific genre. It could potentially be described as alternative or electronic industrial rock. HIZUMI has described it as a blend of all of the members previous work transformed into something new and unique. 

In terms of the creation process, Kishi has stated that for him it's all about inspiration. He gains ideas from a chorus melody, a drum beat or a guitar riff and architects the whole song from there. He has described his approach in song creation as very spontaneous and it all hinges on whatever shapes his inspiration. MASATO on the other hand, has stated that he decided what kind of track he wants to create before making it. He starts off by deciding on the atmosphere before starting the composition whether it be something bright and happy or dark and sad. After settling on the atmosphere, his process becomes similar to Kishi's as he composes everything at the same time. The two would then share their ideas and discuss it until they are both satisfied with the final outcome. Naturally, HIZUMI writes the lyrics.

 

The group released two demos in 2019. The first of which featured the two tracks, XStream and Another Face. The single demo featured Maboroshi and Plastic Factory. Their first official single, Black Swan, composed by Kishi, was released in August 2020. Their follow-up single, KaliMa was released the following month and was composed by MASATO. October of that same year saw the release of a third single, Nomad. Kishi is also the credited composer for Nomad. A year later, they released their first album, Tribrid Archive which consisted of 14 tracks and included both the singles and the demo songs. The name of the album was pretty clever as it combined the words tri and hybrid. This was intentional as the band wanted to emphasise the fact that they are a trio and their musical style is a hybrid, unique to them. They released EVILA, their second album in August 2022. EVILA consisted of 13 tracks. 

One of their biggest strengths is HIZUMI's awesome vocals. I stated in my D'espairsRay post that I am a big fan of his vocal style and that still holds true in regards to his work with NUL. His cleans can be buttery smooth and yet ghostly such as in the opening song of Tribrid Archive, Cube. The dark, atmospheric electronics and MASATO's skilled shredding make that a stand out track which compliments HIZUMI's voice perfectly.  

Songs such as From deep underground, POISON EATER, XStream bring about some nostalgic feelings as HIZUMI rewinds the clock with some excellent screaming like he never took a hiatus away from the music industry. It's easy to see why XStream was chosen to receive the first music video, it's the easiest jumping on point for fans of D'espairsRay. It also helps that it's extremely catchy. I don't like the electronic effects added to the vocals in small sections of the song though, I prefer it when HIZUMI's voice is left alone or with subtle backing tracks.

Songs like Black Swan, EVILA, GREEDY BLOOD FEUD, JILL are heavily reminiscent of D'espairsRay and yet are different enough to stand on their own. I love the crunchy heaviness of MASATO's guitar riffs and HIZUMI's cleans that are much louder than those in songs such as Cube without him resorting to screams. The electronics from Kishi are the cherry on top, especially in the choruses. The dark, atmospheric industrial sound of EVILA filled with electronic sound waves and dark, chunky power chords makes for a pleasant listening experience.

KaliMa's excellent use of the classic sitar, fast tempo and poppy, upbeat electronics makes it stand out and creates a catchy, cheery oriental atmosphere. It feels like being transported to a different world, major props to MASATO for a splendid composition. 

Another Face, Halzion, Karma-Agnostic, Maboroshi, Nomad, soulcage, Yatagarasu and Zankou really slow things down and yet due to their heavy industrial sound, they still feel metal. I love it when Nomad and soulcage really slow down and the violins kick in as MASATO's smooth riffage really pops out during this beautiful rhythmic ballad-like beat. Another Face and nomad are particularly catchy with their consistent, upbeat tunes with nomad venturing very close to poppy territory. MASATO's work shines in nomad as he gets to make his guitar sing with a tremendous solo. I also love HIZUMI's softer, yet ghostly clean vocals as they're stunning and amongst my favourite vocals of all time. This is quite common with me as I tend to prefer melodic soft ballads from typically heavy bands and softer vocals from a vocalist that uses harsh techniques such as growling and screaming. 

SEED IN THE SHELL sounds very sci-fi in its' heavy use of electronics. It would feel at home in action oriented sci-fi anime or video games and I love how the verses incorporate MASATO's guitar work. Ironically, anime and manga such as GHOST IN THE SHELL came to mind when I listened to it. 

Ground zero is a very atmospheric song. It's hauntingly beautiful in every aspect from the delicate piano piece to HIZUMI's ghostly vocals. It picks up in the latter half with MASATO's wonderful guitar riff and a steady drum beat kicking in before fading away quietly. The same can be said of Higanbana, the penultimate track of EVILA. Credit to Kishi for some exquisite compositions. 

Overall, I think that if you are a fan of the band members other work, especially D'espairsRay, then you might very well enjoy the work of NULL. This holds true even if, like me, you're not always keen on heavily electronic rock and metal. I'm very, very picky when it comes to electronic music and it took me a while to get used to the musical style of this particular trio, but they've become one of my favourites bands to listen to and working out to them is fantastic. You'd like them if you're a fan of music that would belong in beat 'em up and sci-fi action video games and anime.