Easily one of the most talked about bands in the heavy metal and hardcore world today, Nails, are back with another beatdown of an album entitled You Will Never Be One of Us (Nuclear Blast). For twenty-two minutes, which is fairly average unfortunately, the California powerviolence group dish out their latest blend of hardcore, grindcore, and heavy metal that will sooth even the angriest of people. For those who love the short yet powerful tracks from previous albums will find only two songs break the two-minute mark.

With such short songs, sometimes it can difficult to pick out tracks to talk about in a review but fortunately there are some truly memorable songs. ‘Life is a Death Sentence’ is a Jekyll and Hyde type song where the first half is that fast, aggressive side to Nails and then in the second half we get the hardcore punk side with only the shortest of warnings. ‘Violence is Forever’ is one of the longer tracks on the album at about three and a half minutes. In addition, this track brings out a groovier side of Nails but does not let up on the aggression at all. Around the two-minute mark the song thrashes out but only to close the song out with a more aggressive riff and guitar feedback. ‘Savage Intolerance’ is a track that could not have come out at a more important time in the world’s history as, per Todd Jones, is about terrorist group, ISIS. Specifically, per Rolling Stone, “…these people are just totally intolerant about anything and everything that’s going on around them, and they just don’t give a fuck, and I think that’s total bullshit.” The track maintains similar tempos from previous tracks but also drops into aggressive sections where any pissed off listener can vision themselves punching an ISIS member’s face in. The last track that I feel obligated to speak about is the closing track, ‘They Come Crawling Back’. This song is easily the longest track in the Nails catalog, let alone on You Will Never Be One of Us, as it hits the eight minute mark! This final song on the album is by far the most hardcore influenced song. While the chorus slows down to let those magical HM-2 distortion pedals work their magic, the verse riffs keep your blood boiling. The second half of the song is a build up to a climactic finish consisting of a back cracking breakdown that is sure to appease all fans, metalheads and hardcore kids alike.

Nails continues to make the most angriest music on the planet, bar none, while also collecting a massive fan base consisting of all sorts of hard music fans. You Will Never Be One of Us is simply another step up the ladder for these guys. While the formulas remain the same for the band’s sound, they are the best at it today and I am not seeing much competition in sight.

 

8.5/10

TIM LEDIN

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