Nainiouman shares powerful, genre-defying debut ‘Dominion’

There’s a common misconception in the heavy community about just what heavy is. Is it a number of strings on a guitar? A vocal technique? Or an amount of double kick per second? The prevailing wisdom is that heavy comes from none of these, heavy is a philosophy; A study. A tool, not a crutch. Heavy is a state of mind.

Through that lens, Nainiouman, a descendant of the Weilwan and Gamilaroi people, has released the heaviest song of the year with her debut single ‘Dominion’.

An impassioned anthem for traditional land care emphasised by the recent bushfire crisis, ‘Dominion’ sees a heavy topic told through Nainiouman’s soaring vocals, laid atop a song bed composed of what we could call traditionally hard rock elements – shredding guitar and relentless percussion.

I began working on this track in late-2018,” says Nainiouman of her debut. “It was like a premonition. I couldn’t quite find the emotion for what it was about and it then sat on hold until late-2019. November and December saw fires rage throughout Australia, and emotion fuelled an overwhelming need to finish the song. In witnessing events in real time and on social media, it became like a theme song to what was going on.

The emotions in me became the song, and it all needed to be expressed. I got back in the studio and finished the recording while the land continued to burn; it was hard to breathe every day because of the smoke. At the time, I was volunteering at a disaster relief centre and helping out where I could, so it was very raw and emotional. The people, land and animals all hurting… and they still are”.

Figuratively speaking, the official video counterpart of ‘Dominion’ doesn’t mince words either. Laying the literal atop the metaphorical, the clip delivers shot after shot of death, decay and destruction making its creators’ poignant message all the more brutal. If your neurons don’t clock that as heavy as fuck, well, you might need to recalibrate.

Further punctuating the single is its release date coinciding with International Women’s Day happening today, Sunday 8th March.