Album Review: Nails - "Unsilent Death"

After taking a look at the latest John 3:16 album and what's probably Kanye West's most famous album, I think it's time to review something moshtastic. While surfing around one of my favorite blogs, Stuff You Will Hate, I stumbled upon a band called Nails. I liked what I heard, so I checked out their 2010 album, Unsilent Death (that title is metal as fuck. I'm just sayin') and all I have to say is:

Holy fuck.

Nails: Masters of grade 9 Comm. Tech.

Nails is a band from California that play a very different type of hardcore. Well, it used to be very different, but after Nails gained popularity every new hardcore band and their mothers started playing this particular style of music. The music is occasionally dubbed Entombedcore, meaning a cross between hardcore and Entombed's classic Left Hand Path death metal sound.

Thicker than Kim Kardashian's booty.

The thick as fuck buzzsaw guitar and bass tones were compliments of one of Sweden's most famous metal recording studios, Sunlight Studio and ever since Left Hand Path dropped in 1990, it's been the undisputed champion of heavy, thick, and raw production. Naturally, this lead many bands to attempt to emulate this sound, with many falling flat. Nails manage to capture the visceral tones in Unsilent Death, and miraculously make things a bit clearer without sacrificing overall brutality.

What sets Nails apart from the simple Entombedcore sound is that they also incorporate some old school grindcore flair, a la Repulsion. This is honestly what sets apart Unsilent Death from other Entombedcore albums, like Black Breath's Sentenced to Life. Nails are able to swing from slow and groovy slams right up to blistering speeds capable of melting faces and busting guts. It's the unrelenting intensity that wins me over with this album. Unsilent Death's slow sections make me throw my hands in the air Fenriz style, and furiously fast sections that incite nothing but violent moshing in everything within earshot.

The only downside to Unsilent Death is that it runs for less than 15 minutes. Yeah. It's short enough to be in EP territory, but it's technically a full length release. Honestly though, it's brutal enough that if it went on for 40 or so minutes, I'd probably get bored with it. There's only so much you can do with this style of hardcore,  and playing it safe by only filling up 14 minutes worth of it on a CD might have been for the best.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Conform, Traitor, Depths

On a Playlist With: Black Breath, Entombed, Magrudergrind

Overall Score

4.0

There's really not much more to say about Unsilent Death that can't be said in those few paragraphs. Nails drop a filthy, nauseating, bonecrusher of an album. If you're looking for a swift and brutal drop-kick to the face, this should be what you check out first.

That's all for now, folks! You are all good and lovely.

-DG