I went through a bit of a grindcore renaissance recently when I heard Pig Destroyer’s “Prowler In The Yard” so I was quite enthusiastic about reviewing this album. With the band being called NAILS (note the capitals), a suitably grim cover and some decidedly nihilistic song titling they seem to have all the relevant credentials. Deciding to deliver the first half of the album in under 6 minutes is also a pretty metal thing to do, but it’s a bit of a blur up to the last section of “GODS COLD HANDS” and “WIDE OPEN WOUND” where they decide to switch from full on thrashing to actually grinding, and it’s when they slow down a bit that they get to their most effective. The production is both a blessing and a curse, coming over like a scummy 90’s thrash metal band (think Entombed or Slayer) which means that production flair is sacrificed for visceral smashing power. Over repeated listens this album is slowly revealing its character and instead of being scared and / or terrified by the almost indecipherable blitzkrieg barrage of sub one minute songs, you should dive in to the slow burning pits of evil that are “WIDE OPEN WOUND” and “SUUM CUIQUE”. From there you can see the phantoms of Pig Destroyer, Carcass, Napalm Death and Slayer that have informed this challenging but formidable album.
Kim Monaghan
