The Raging Nathans – Dayton, Ohio, USA
The Raging Nathans and Still Spitting Blood. It seems as if it’s always The Raging Nathans and “something” and that is not to be tainted by any level conceivable negative. Why? Well, the Ohio band’s craft is organic and context-dependent. Their amorphous blend of classic Pop-Punk, clarity charged Punk-Rock and forays into a more technically complex and fervent display has unyieldingly quested intro, retro and extro-spectively over the last two albums. Such a journey is now set to transcend over what is about to be three consecutive full-lengths written as four-piece. Those precursory albums are Oppositional Defiance (2020) and Waste My Heart (2021) of which you can find breakdowns of – Here and – Here respectively.
As for the aforementioned third, I’ve been granted early access to the latest in this thematic refinement of The Raging Nathans and so, here we are, Still Spitting Blood. To Dayton!
‘Head In Hole’ observes a cranium buried in a perfectly fitting hole, mired in a viscous and intentional incredulity and hubris through the gauze of The Nathans’s cathartic humour, sardonically making light of an endemic mentality. The band’s brash humour is echoed in a more cohesive version of their signature scrappy, raw Punk-Rock. Such is nuanced by Patrick Cost’s sharp fills and tactically off-beat Skate Punk, whilst the layered guitars born from the previous two records’ experimentation morph ‘Head In Hole’ through a quickfire, mildly metallicized Hardcore rhythm section and a ripping ‘core lead prior to a finalising, melodious charge.
With your attention encapsulated, Christian and Patrick push a grounded but sufficiently buoyant rhythm as a staging ground for more of the band’s refined guitar flex in a track where The Raging Nathan’s comfort in stylistic and tonal shifts is as confident as ever. ‘And You Know I Know’ is an unapologetically popped-Punk-Rock song by a band truly gifted at it. ‘Fucked Olympia’ then sees Cost set free behind the kit yet again with patterns matching the strained, pained thoughts of the lyricisms in perhaps one of the band’s most harmonious vocal displays to date. It’s also on track three that seamlessly, Josh Goldman’s vocals change their level of fervour quite organically for the third time.
This a theme that the standout single ‘Doubt’ continues with as it battles the word’s purest representation over another barbed, forward-facing and honesty-imbued Pop-Skate-Punk number darting for a clearer mind. ‘Doubt’ is not only relatable but marks a high point on the record for how, again, the band’s dual guitars glide as they truly outdo themselves as equally crucial parts of the carefully layered sound of Still Spitting Blood.
‘The Lime Pit’ overlays an almost Garage Punk tone over the unbridled honesty laced openly throughout the band’s work with a poignant maturity intertwined with a playful gusto necessitated for catharsis. Track six, the eponymous ‘Still Spitting Blood’, ups the ante considerably in yet another forerunning single. Six is agitated, adrenalised and bitterly defiant lyrically. While, instrumentally and as a combined whole, the band’s penchant for blistering Punk, this time cut with urgent Hardcore and tightly wound metallically inclined drumming echo their wide influences. Here, it’s hard not to hear Skate Punk’s ubiquitous Thrash bedfellow reminiscent of the grizzled yet tight structure of Propagandhi or the tearing leads of New Maps Of Hell-era Bad Religion. Regardless of the skill at which the band produce Punk-singalongs, it is fair to say that they truly excel with more vigorous displays.
‘Nothing I Can Do’ further perpetuates the thematic lyricism so backed up against the wall across Still Spitting Blood through a classic Punk-inspired, ’90s bout of rousing disregard. Deviating again, ‘The Answer (Smoke ‘Em)’ then further contorts standardised Punk song structures as The Raging Nathans continue to nuance their foundational grit. Track eight is disguised as a simple, mid-paced abrasive Punk song but in reality, its jagged, angular riffs and almost-dissonant complexities, though subtle, will (arguably) yield nothing but more appreciation for this era of the band.
Speaking of eras, another detail superfluous to contest would be the band’s lyricism. Though “on brand”, the band’s words continue to gain a more considered, emotive and intelligent ground as they symbiotically run with the aforementioned, amorphous sound. On Still Spitting Blood, writing credit lyrically and musically is more representative, which would explain entirely why a strong band are becoming increasingly so.
Comparatively, Still Spitting Blood is a “slower” release. That said, it’s clearly a part of a triumvirate of explorative experimentation for the four-piece. This is The Raging Nathans but in the culmination of the total comfort they have been chasing. ‘Waste Of Time’, another single, further hammers the existential catalyst behind a more in-depth record. The band’s stylistic shift, though jarring, is undeniably and organically, with said nuances (there’s that word again) coalescing into a greater representation of what it means to be making music as The Raging Nathans now.
‘This World’ is bleak, straight to the point and closing on what the band know. This is little to say on track ten. The frantic and streamlined “natures” of the band are equated and in check with the sentiment wearing itself in some sort of sardonic, resigned pride. – ‘You’re born naked and free, they drag you down just as soon as you learn how to breathe […]‘ through its existence as much as its greater sentiment and track-wide instrumentation is an addictive, resoundingly correct way to end an album created with and exuding unambiguous pride.
And, as for production, do you see any complaints? The Raging Nathans will release singles from Still Splitting Blood every two weeks, each with individual artwork, until the eventual release via Rad Girlfriend Records in North America and Brassneck Records in the UK and Europe. Find the band and pre-orders below!
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