ALBUM REVIEW: Nails - Every Bridge Burning

Every Bridge Burning will be released August 30th on Nuclear Blast Records

After three years of silence following the ten year anniversary release of the band's debut Unsilent Death, hardcore/grindcore/powerviolence act NAILS announced their mighty return with a new album Every Bridge Burning. The band's first new album in eight years. Fans were salivating at the return of this powerhouse of powerviolence, With new music just on the horizon. With their new album finally coming out, did they deliver a record that will please the fans and mark a mighty return for this legendary act of unmitigated speed and ferocity?

The album opens with "Imposing Will". With gritty, grimey guitars from Shelby Lermo & Todd Jones, the song just instantly channels that energy of Napalm Death with the song's hit the ground running intensity. Carlos Cruz' pounding kick adds a commanding pulse with Andrew Solis' bass undertone. Jones' vocals come in swinging, heavy on the phlegmy, visceral delivery. A solid and brutal track, with some groove near the close. Less than a minute and a half, it is a solid punch to the throat and a strong opening track for the band's mighty return.

"Punishment Map" opens with Cruz' pummeling his drum kit as the guitars instantly match the speed and delivery of Cruz' playing. Jones' screams sound unhinged, with so much unnatural anger and presence in his vocals. I don't know if it's layering in the production or if he is just that pissed off. Eitherway, it just sounds so violent in his performance. Similar to Ringworm's lead vocalist James "Human Furnace" Bulloch. Another track that flies by in just over a minute of pure, unadulterated aggression and fury. The album's title track goes with the same "pedal to the metal" mindset and instantly just goes for the throat. Guitars are so distorted and the bass adds such heft to the double bass on the track. Vocals are just almost manic and schizophrenic. Becoming almost unintelligible in the screams of Jones on the song. The hardcore riff change after the halfway mark delivers that crust-punk style delivery Nails does so well since their debut Unsilent Death.

"Give Me The Painkiller" opens with a thrash heavy, fretboard hopping riff. With the matching d-beat drumming, it instantly brings the nostalgia of classic thrash, combined with the harshness of grindcore and powerviolence, and an almost catchy guitar-heavy chorus. The second longest song on the album, the song goes for every genre fusion. Crossover thrash, crust punk, grind, speed metal and hardcore. A beautiful amalgamation of genres that were cranked to eleven with the knob broken off. My favorite track off the album, and potentially my favorite from the band.

"Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy" opens with a chug heavy riff, into a heavy breakdown like riff section. The song has that hardcore feeling you'd get with a Madball or Hatebreed song, but with Jones' vocals giving it a really dark and abrasive edge. Topped off with a nice breakdown section right after the halfway mark, the drums help bring the track home with a devastating thud. The shortest song on the album is next with "Trapped". Channeling the band's roots in powerviolence and grindcore, the song is just fast-paced, manic vocals by Jones and a punk attitude and delivery. A thirty-second, over-the-top embrace of hostility and power.

On "Made Up in Your Mind", drums lead the charge with ringing distorted guitars. I was instantly bobbing my head along with every snare strike, as Jones' layered vocals just make his vocals so concentrated in aggression. "Dehumanized" has commanding drums by Cruz, as the song continues the sonic onslaught of speed, intensity and pure pissed-off energy. The band doesn't take their foot off the gas with their playing and vocals. Not giving the listener any reprieve or time to recover through the wailing guitars and sonic blast beats throughout. "I Can't Turn It Off" has a metalcore/hardcore fusion of guitars in the opening. Cruz' double bass punches through the mix, as well as Jones' phlegm-heavy vocals. The song gives off vibes of acts like Botch, Spazz and Agnostic Front in the guitar and pacing. Moments of hardcore with the breakdown, the drive of the drums, and the high-octane guitar playing just shows how much Nails is a BEAST of a band on their albums.

The album's closer, "No More Rivers To Cross", has a sludge metal sounding opening. With the ringing guitars and reverb-heavy drums, the song just has that brooding, evil and ominous tone. And I LOVE every second of it. This darker, sludgy tone fits Jones' vocals. Channeling acts like Soilent Green and Eyehategod, which the band pulls that slower tone off really well on this track. The ominous closing feedback wall, into one final breakdown closes out this whirldwind of a return for the band.  

With the album being almost eighteen minutes in length, Nails delivered a no fluff, straight to the point record that will please anyone who wants the speed, aggression and hostility in short runtimes. With most of the songs being under the two-minute mark, I think that there were some that were really good and gave me that grindcore/powerviolence itch that I love with the genre. My only issue with that, is that some songs I wish went a little bit longer. Giving off the feeling of ramping you up in the build-up, like we are about to go into a brutal breakdown or faster pacing, but it just stops.

Granted, I am aware that the genre is more aimed towards speed, but it's ok to go a little longer. Not all of Napalm Death or Brutal Death's songs were under two minutes. When they went longer, they were still brutal, they were still fast, and at the end of the day were great songs. Whether Nails will do that, I don't think so, since this band will pummel you with everything they got regardless of how long the album is. Great record and a strong return for this legendary act and I hope they are here to stay and there is more to come from them following this release.

SCORE: 9 / 10
FFO: Pig Destroyer, Wormrot, Ringworm

Track List

1) Imposing Will
2) Punishment Map
3) Every Bridge Burning
4) Give Me The Painkiller
5) Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy
6) Trapped
7) Made Up in Your Mind
8) Dehumanized
9) I Can't Turn It Off
10) No More Rivers To Cross