NIRATIAS (an acronym for "Nothing Is Real and This Is a Simulation") is the ninth studio album by American rock band Chevelle, released on March 5, 2021.
[1]Artwork for the album is by Boris Vallejo, also known for designing the posters used for films like Knightriders and National Lampoon's Vacation.
[16] "So Long, Mother Earth" is a song about space exploration and AllMusic compared it to "Tool's dystopian art-metal".
[21] James Christopher Monger of AllMusic praised NIRATIAS as a "visceral sci-fi fever dream that pairs tight, caustic riffage with billowing melodic contrails".
He criticized the absence of former bassist Dean Bernardini, stating, "It's in these beefier numbers that the absence of Bernardini is felt -- in addition to handling vocals, guitar, and piano, Pete Loeffler was tasked with filling in on bass as well, and while his parts are more than adequate, the paucity of low-end throughout NIRATIAS is hard to ignore.
"[21] Gerrod Harris of The Spill Magazine stated, "Chevelle has written the soundtrack warning of the dystopian future that looks more like Blade Runner and Total Recall than we'd like on NIRATIAS.
The album ties together a tight recorded performance that sounds larger than life along with strong, unique songwriting that propelled Chevelle forward for just over 20 years.