Label: Felix Records
Date: August 29th, 2020
It’s weird for me to call people my age veterans. I’ll just use the phrase well-established. Especially on the Serbian scene. Mostly because Nadimač is a band that is more about what they are singing about. And they are singing in Serbian language. Though they try to place the shortened message behind the lyrics in the booklet, it is still mostly dedicated to Serbian people. Also, even if some of their lyrics address global issues, most of them are inspired by the tragedy that is living in Serbia.
One of which is the dictatorship we are living under. Though concealed at first, it quickly came to surface. Any sort of civil liberties is limited to those supporting the regime. Objective media reports are downsized to just a couple of cable networks and printed newspapers. All the bigger and more influential media are led by the pawns of the ruling political party. Hence the introduction to this EP, translated to “Neutering the public opinion”. Directly taken from the famous Serbian movie “Three tickets to Hollywood”, it captures a frantic police officer cheering his policemen to insult, beat and incarcerate the disobedient people. It’s sad how close it sounds to the actual rhetoric of leading Serbian politicians.
Mass blindfolding by the mainstream media is further explored in the first real track on the EP, called “Mass hallucinations”. You pretty much get the point straight from the title. What needs to be said about the song itself is that it leans much more towards hardcore punk than the crossover thrash Nadimač got us used to.
The follower, “Mountains have eyes” opens with a clear fuck off to businessmen looking to exploit every possible natural resource. Serbia has a big problem with assholes looking to turn small, mountain rivers into mini hydroelectric plants. The trouble is that those often run through small villages with small number of inhabitants to protect them. It is through internet organized actions that more people get involved. Even Danilo, Nadimač’s singer was recently involved in one. As you see, it’s not all about empty words. And now we are back under a familiar wing. Crossover as it ever was with the quartet. Adding to the rural charm, there is some unusual flute (sorry, I have no idea of the actual name of the instrument) passage involved.
“Man is a machine” is, as mentioned above, a more globally involved track. It talks about the enslavement of ordinary man under the mask of free will. Nadimač calls internet to a stand. You are given a tool to voice any concern you have. However, people do not use it. Few who do are accused of raising panic and often prosecuted as common criminals. Think about it. It is frightening how much about any of us is easily available to misuse. Either by multibillion dollar companies or by the forces of law.
The Closing track, “Death on four feet” is yet another call for freedom. If you ask me, this is the song of the record. Most exemplary in every regard, musically, lyrically and with high level of creativity on display. Complemented by a duet appearing as an especially grim glimpse into future. A little girls voice appears alongside Danilo’s for a moment that has to make you worry.
As you may imagine, music behind such topics needs to be rough, raw and boiling with wrathful fury. Nadimač delivers just that. Music to rage to, but most of all to think about. If you skip the thinking part, you become a part of the problem.
