Album Review: Nails - 'You Will Never Be One Of Us'

31 May 2016 | 11:24 am | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

Tough as nails.

2016 has been a phenomenal year so far for heavy music, with some truly great releases from the likes of Hatebreed, ArchitectsFJORT, Perpetrator, Rust Proof and Magrudergrind. Now you can go and add US grind/power violence act Nails to that list with their latest aural assault, ‘You Will Never Be One of Us’.

Following 2010’s solid 13-minute debut, ‘Unsilent Death’, and 2013’s critically acclaimed ‘Abandon All Life’, this new album is a vicious love letter to the hardcore genre and to those who adore this music and the scene. It unapologetically states that this isn’t a scene that cons and suits can exploit and push selfish agendas through; that you must give back in what you take away; that it's music you either understand or you don’t, and if you don’t, well you can fuck right off!

LP3 is as solid and consistent as it is thrashy and visceral, which is to say, a whole lot! The first four songs off this album fly past you in a glorious flurry of savage screams, thunderous drumming and chaotic guitar riffs, before ‘Violence Is Forever’ holds out for three minutes, and the band just revels in this same extended chaos. Long or short, Nails nail it every time (okay, we'll stop now). The next four songs are much like the first bunch, a cacophonous blur. At some point, you can’t help but just sit back and admire the sheer intensity of it all. Rounding out the album is its crowning achievement – ‘They Come Back Crawling’. This is an epic eight-minute-long song (which is almost half of the album's runtime, mind you) that leaves absolutely nothing in its wake. It basically encapsulates everything great about Nails’ primal sound into one immense track.

Furthermore, the misanthropic, don't-give-a-fuck attitude of the band's lyrical content is so fitting for this style of music, and as far as hardcore music goes, these guys really are the antithesis of fellow hardcore groups such as Turnstile and Deez Nuts (who are both decent bands in their own right). Perhaps the only other acts going right now that can pull off this grindcore/power violence style this violently (and this well) is the almighty Converge and the downright crazy Magrudergrind. Funnily enough, Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou produced/engineered 'You Will Never Be One Of Us'. That suddenly makes a lot of sense once you consider this trio's vehement and oppressive sound. If this record is anything like one of their shows, then sign us up right now!

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And now, we come to perhaps the most important part of a review of a new Nails record – the length. When this writer was sent the new album in advance, he was told that it, “Won't take you long to listen to it”, and goddamn, this is accurate! All up, this record goes for about 21 minutes with just ten songs. That means that if you buy this album in stores or even through the iTunes store, it's likely going to average out to about one dollar per minute. Like come on, that’s better value for money than you’ll get from most prostitutes! So, in summary: Nails > sex.

With their beastly third album, Nails have pretty much cemented themselves as one of the most punishing and volatile bands in the heavy music scene. Seriously, we needed a new pair of ears after hearing this beast, and while Nails will leave you a bloodied and broken mess, you will love every second if it, goddamnit. What ‘You Will Never Be One Of Us’ lacks in the quantity department it makes up for in droves with its quality. If you're tough enough for it, this is a record that will reward you in spades.

 

1. You Will Never Be One Of Us

2. Friend To All

3. Made To Make You Fall

4. Life Is A Death Sentence

5. Violence Is Forever

6. Savage Intolerance

7. In Pain

8. Parasite

9. Into Quietus

10. They Come Crawling Back