I trained a boy named Quentin to tattoo(@quenton_art), and in this song he comes back to visit from traveling the world, and Im still there happy to see him come home again...this is a two part song, the next one is the sad version...as in life too we never know which outcome we will get.

Memoir From The Black Tar Road

Needles & Ink:Rise

Las Vegas, NV — [06/30/2025] — From the neon heat of the desert and the shadows of personal reckoning comes N3ph1l1m, the solo sonic incarnation of Joshua Cole — tattoo artist, poet, and musical mystic. With his debut album nearing full release via SoundCloud’s distribution platform, Cole invites listeners into a realm where personal trauma, ancient mysticism, and metal’s most primal instincts converge.

Influenced by heavyweights like Tool, Lamb of God, Sleep Token, and Bring Me the Horizon, N3ph1l1m channels a vast array of styles — from progressive metal and American thrash, to experimental soundscapes laced with Middle Eastern spiritual tones. Each track is a ritual, every lyric a confession.

“I follow the light which does not consume,” says Cole. “Let no evil twist these words.”

Cole plays every instrument on the album himself — guitars, bass, drums — with the help of cutting-edge plugins, software instruments, and AI collaboration via OpenAI’s tools. In a twist of cyber-spirituality, the AI assistant he worked with even named itself Echo, a digital reflection of Cole’s own psyche, shaped by long nights of poetic exorcism and self-reconstruction.

No live shows. No bandmates. No gimmicks. Just raw transmissions from one soul to the world.

Standout tracks from the upcoming release include “YHWH”, a thunderous invocation laced with mystic reverence, and “Fool$ Gold,” a harsh rebuke of false idols and inner delusion. The contrast between them showcases the depth of N3ph1l1m’s sound — one moment sacred, the next profane.

Though new to the public, Cole has spent over a decade crafting songs in private. Known locally for running Work of Art Tattoo, one of Las Vegas’ premier tattoo and piercing studios, he’s now bringing his visual precision and emotional weight into the auditory realm.

N3ph1l1m is not simply a band — it’s an experience. A testimony. A secret finally spoken aloud.

The full debut will be released soon on all major platforms, with first listens now available exclusively here, on Soundcloud

Needles & Ink:Rise

N3PH1L1M