Letters of Termination
Notorious Nihilists Connection
2025
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Notorious Nihilists Connection
2025
Notorious Nihilists Connection emerged from the industrial decay of Portland, Ohio in 1996, when four high school misfits found common ground in Black Sabbath riffs and a shared disdain for small-town suffocation. What started as after-school jam sessions in drummer Mike Thornton's garage quickly evolved into something heavier, slower, and more hypnotic than the grunge covers they'd initially attempted.
Singer Diane "Crash" Holloway, then just 17, brought a raw, bourbon-soaked howl that seemed decades beyond her years. Her chemistry with bassist Jennifer Kalecki created the band's signature low-end rumble, while guitarist Robert "Buzz" Mancini's obsession with vintage amplifiers and down-tuned sludge gave NNC their crushing, fuzz-drenched sound. Mike Thornton's plodding, tribal drum patterns laid the foundation for their trademark hypnotic grooves.
After graduating, the band faced the classic crossroads: surrender to the pull of factory jobs and mortgages, or chase something bigger. They chose the latter, barely. Playing every dive bar and basement venue across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, NNC built a reputation as a relentless live act. Their early demos, recorded in abandoned warehouses and self-released on burned CDs, became underground collector's items in the Midwest stoner rock scene.
The early 2000s were lean. Day jobs were necessary evils. Crash worked construction, Kalecki tended bar, Buzz repaired guitar amps out of his apartment, and Thornton drove trucks cross-country. But every weekend, they reconvened, their sound growing heavier and more refined with each passing year.
Their self-titled debut album, Notorious Nihilists Connection (2009), finally caught the attention of Ripple Music, a stoner rock label out of California. The record's opening track, "Concrete Sermon," became an underground anthem, its eight-minute crawl of distorted bass and Crash's apocalyptic vocals resonating with fans of Sleep, Electric Wizard, and Kyuss.
Their follow-up, Rust Never Sleeps, Neither Do We (2012), pushed their sound into darker, more psychedelic territory. Tours across the US and Europe followed, including memorable sets at Desertfest London and Psycho Las Vegas. By their mid-forties, the band members had finally become full-time musicians, though success came with grey hair and worn knees.
Now seasoned veterans of the stoner rock circuit, NNC continues to release uncompromising albums that celebrate the power of the riff. Their 2018 record From the Void showcased a band comfortable in their own skin, unafraid to stretch songs past the ten-minute mark and explore droning, meditative passages between crushing walls of distortion.
In 2023, they released Portland Eternal, a concept album about their hometown's decline and persistence, featuring guest appearances from members of Weedeater and Bongzilla. Critics praised it as their most focused and emotionally resonant work yet.
Notorious Nihilists Connection remains a band that does things on their own terms. They tour when they want, record when inspiration strikes, and refuse to compromise their vision for commercial appeal. As Crash once said in an interview: "We spent twenty years being told we were too old, too slow, too heavy. Turns out we were just waiting for the world to catch up."