Nothing Left – “Demo 1999”

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Way back in the halcyon days of 1999, Steve Cefala (Dawning, Pale Existence) joined forces with Mike Beams (Exhumed), Brian Glover (Bred For Slaughter, Pale Existence) and Jon Nedbal (Disembodiment, Bred For Slaughter) to make detuned high-volume death/doom metal. From those sessions emerged this 25 minute demo which owes as much to early grindcore as to death metal and doom metal.

The constant assault of “Demo 1999” calls to mind bands like Mortician that intended to make thunderous slow primitive death metal, and energetic heavy-bass assault grindcore bands like Drogheda. The result alternates between slow grinding passages and picked up two-chord uptempo charges, aiming with these basic songs more to create atmosphere than work in a dozen riffs in the death metal style. Like deathgrind slowed down but without the insistence on utterly basic catchy rhythms, taking more of the Napalm Death approach of making basic rhythms sound alien and unnerving, Nothing Left surges like the pulsing sounds of tanks passing in the night on their way to an apocalyptic battle.

Primarily influenced by Mayhem, Brujeria and Mortician, Nothing Left existed for a few short years. To get their signature sound, the band tuned down almost an octave and played at top volume through two full stacks and giant overdriven bass cabinets, then ran the bass through a DOD Meatbox subharmonic pedal that generates a companion tone two octaves below. The result throbs and hangs in the air like a nuclear blast, rumbling and surging within its slowed-down rhythms. True to its influences, it takes the low-fi primitive grind sound and gives it the expansive atmosphere of black metal while reducing all that it creates to incomprehensible destruction. For those who can confront such a monster, band has made the full demo available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLG8YyTtqi4

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13 thoughts on “Nothing Left – “Demo 1999””

  1. Brujeria was one of the biggest frauds perpetrated on metal. They claimed to be Mexican drug dealers but didn’t do drugs and only spoke welfare spanish. Another label stunt to take your shekels and make you into a cryptochristian.

    1. steve says:

      But we already knew Brujeria was a joke… a very funny one at that …
      still their music was grindcore and heavey as fuck…

  2. Lord Mosher says:

    This demo fucking slays !!
    When was the band formed and how long they lasted as a band?
    Why didn’t they make it past demo stage?
    Really cool metal right here.

  3. steve says:

    Thanks Lord Mosher. This band formed out of our previous black/doom band Dawning. It has Brian and Jon who both played on the 4th dawning demo and Brian played on the 3rd Dawning demo too. Because key Dawning member guitarist Bud Burke (now in Exhumed) left to go to UC Santa Barbara- we decided to change the band-name and take the music in a less melodic and more brutal de-tuned direction . We kept at it for about two years jamming these tunes. We couldn’t get a break in terms of getting any shows. the library I had rented for DIY shows out previously no longer allowed shows because someone else rented it out and messed everything up.
    I blame myself for breaking off with the band . In hindsight I think I was kind of a jerk to the guitarist Jon about him not being able to play some of my riffs (that were ridiculously hard to play). But there was an argument that I was changing his waltz(y) la-la-la type 3/3 time riffs into heavy groove 4/4 chunky Brujeria riffs.
    We weren’t really going anywhere in the local scene though . Brian , Jon , and I were all curmudgeons who gave our other local friends’ more popular bands a real hard time about their lack of originality . Also (from my eyes) the local underground death metal scene died off a bit in 99 -2001 whereas it had really picked up in 95-98.

    1. jeff says:

      any way you guys could release it for download? Hate listening to albums on youtube, and I really enjoy what I’ve heard!

      1. Or release it on CD…

      2. Rotten Ralph says:

        Dude, it’s piss easy to download audio from Youtube. I use this software here: http://www.flvto.com/youtube-downloader/ – no hassle whatsoever, just put in the youtube link and convert it.

  4. steve says:

    I would add that if you like this band you need to check out Bred For Slaughter on Youtube because Brian and Jon still jam together and though its faster music than this – they are super aggressive sounding and VERY heavy.

  5. steve says:

    I’m thinking about starting a tiny label and doing a very few limited edition cds and tapes of Nothing Left, some Dawning stuff, Pale Existence ( if the former members are ok with it ), and Mike Beam’s Bereaved . I would probably mostly just sell them on my ebay store but I have paypal so people could email me directly at stevecefala.dawning@gmail.com .

    I was talking to Mike Beams formerly of Exhumed and Nothing Left today and he has some brutal solo recordings he did back in the early to mid 90s I would be interested in publishing . Was like My Dying Bride but MUCH heavier and more detuned . He played all the instruments including violin on it . I think he had Brian the drummer from Nothing Left on his first Bereaved recording . It could be problematic because a band from Sweden took that name in 1998 but I know Mike was doing it back in like 92 but he didn’t really promote it . I would have to figure out about his band name if I release it . Mike and I might start jamming together again , which would would be cool :)

    1. tiny midget says:

      awright steve. if u need a tiny helper for your tiny label, count me in. i’m tiny.

      1. You two would make a great team.

  6. steve says:

    are you the midget from Twin Peaks . that’s my fav!

  7. steve says:

    well besides tiny tim cause tiny tims Christmas album rules…

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