You might be forgiven for thinking that the warm southern Californian climate is an unlikely breeding ground for grindcore. Well, think again. Nails, from this very region and formed in 2007, are grindcore with a capital ‘G’. Having unleashed their debut in 2010, the band returns with its second full-length, the seventeen-minute long ‘Abandon All Life’. As the splendidly obscure cover art suggests, prepare to embark on a journey that will take you to hell and back…
‘In Exodus’ initiates the descent with menacing riff work that brings to mind Suffocation before it’s time for some darn intense blast-beats and insane shrieks to bring the grind to the core, like Nasum in a fit of hysteria. The usual reference points of early Napalm Death and ENT necessarily also apply. And by track two, ‘Tyrant’, I’m reminded – having not bought a grind album in a long time – just how this genre defines the term ‘anger’. As the experience continues, bands like Repulsion and Cretin equally come to mind as clattering sections are punctuated by jackhammer speed, and obtrusive kick drums appear out of nowhere to usher in all-out chaos.
It’s not until the half-way point that a little ‘respite’ is offered by the slow, filthy groove of ‘Wide Open Wound’, which clocks in at a whopping 3:37. Elsewhere, excellent riffs burst violently out and a general feel of unbridled mania rules. ‘No Surrender’ comes across like an organic Agoraphobic Nosebleed, while ‘Pariah’ and ‘Cry Wolf’ can be described respectively as ‘party grind’ and ‘slaughter grind’. Whichever way you cut it, the consistent word is ‘intense’. Topping it all off is the heavy death metal groove of ‘Suum Cuique’, which encompasses abrasive fretwork and even doom elements within its expanded playing time.
The dying moments of the end track break down into repeated pounding on drums, feedback and a final gasp from below as if to confirm the futility of our earthly existence. It’s impossible to imagine a more apt title than the one Nails have bestowed upon their merciless sophomore effort. Whether it should be classified as an album or not is up for debate, although from where I’m sitting, this speaks much more powerfully than many similar releases which contain twenty or thirty tracks. Definitely a case of quality over quantity, and definitely a winner from start to finish.
(9/10 Jamie Wilson)
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