Interesting debut ep for this Laredo (Texas) based band, consisting of John Johnston on vocals and Cynthia and Waldo Rocha taking care of all the instruments. Alpha consists of four tracks in which a gothic doom influenced by Paradise Lost and early Katatonia is exhibited; Nethermost are the authors of a very straightforward, no-frills proposal and for that very reason, all the more appreciable. Meanwhile, in spite of a female presence in the line-up, the cliché that in these cases involves the obvious dichotomy between growl and angelic vocals is immediately disproved, with only John taking care of the vocal parts, while Cynthia with her guitar sketches melancholic melodies but supported by a rather lively rhythmic base. Certainly this first taste shows a band with very clear ideas, though certainly not innovative; granted that a song like Tower Of The Winds is a real gem, the trio should focus on the goal of diversifying the proposal more. In fact, the only criticism that can be addressed to a work like Alpha is its excessive uniformity: the four tracks sound rather similar to each other and set to a classic mid-tempo, characteristics that, if they are not a problem on a duration of less than twenty minutes, could prove counterproductive should Nethermost decide to try their hand at the long distance. However, very good for now; considering that the ep is self-produced, a label willing to step up could derive considerable satisfaction from this band.

2012 – Independent