Following up on 2010's "Unsilent Death", SoCal power-violence band Nails have released the first track from their forthcoming 7". The Obscene Humanity 7” captures three of the most iconic tracks from the bands’ raging debut 12” EP of the same name, re-recorded during the "Unsilent Death" sessions with their more modern, metallic, pulverizing low-end tonal attack. For anyone interested, Todd Jones details the history behind these recordings and the original sessions on CVLT Nation.
To round out the year, Nails will enter the caverns of Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts with Converge’s Kurt Ballou from late December into early January, recording their anticipated next full-length. The new album, Abandon All Life, will be finished early in the year for a Springtime release on Southern Lord.
NAILS w/ Converge, Torche, Kvelertak:
10/24/2012 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
10/25/2012 Branx - Portland, OR
10/26/2012 Slim's - San Francisco, CA
10/27/2012 Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
10/28/2012 EchoPlex - Los Angeles, CA
10/30/2012 The Nile - Mesa, AZ
Nails sits right on the line between hardcore and grind and the band released their debut thirteen-minute full-length album Unsilent Death at the beginning of 2010 on their own Streetcleaner Records, and were shortly thereafter picked up by Southern Lord. The Southern Lord press release for the disc compared Nails to a "cross between the good Amrep bands of the nineties (Helmet, Hammerhead, Today is The Day, Unsane) and Cro-Mags Age of Quarrel riffage played at breakneck speeds."
Nails has just confirmed a short run of East Coast appearances this Spring, as they will attack Boston, Brooklyn and Philly in a straight three-day rampage with support from Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die and New Lows. Nails are also one of the many acts on the roster for this May's annual installment of the Maryland Deathfest, scheduled to play on the first night of the festival alongside Pulling Teeth, Neurosis, Corrosion Of Conformity, Marduk, Kylesa, labelmates Masakari and Goatsnake plus tons more.
Nails East Coast Tour Dates: 3/31/11 -- Great Scott, Boston, MA w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows 4/01/11 -- Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows 4/02/11 -- The Barbary, Philadelphia, PA w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows 5/27/11 -- Maryland Deathfest - Baltimore, MD
Tim Lambesis ruined the ability of music reviewers to use the phrase ‘totally brutal’ with his Austrian Death Machine project but I’m going to go for it anyway and call the new CD from Nails “totally brutal”. Over the last few decades, I’ve seen some crazy mosh pits but Nails’ new disc sounds like an immediate flashpoint that will start the violence flowing.
I was only loosely familiar with Nails prior to Unsilent Death [the band’s second disc] and had made some assumptions based on guitarist/vocalist Todd James’ time in Terror. There is really no comparison between the two bands as Nails’ music sits right on the line between hardcore and grid. The disc’s ten tracks blast through in fourteen minutes and most tracks clock in at about a minute.
The disc contains two ‘longer’ songs ("Unsilent Death" and "Depths") which are given the opportunity to develop musically but even the shorter songs have a chance to spew their fury. These shorter songs don’t feel like the typical grindcore microsong as producer Kurt Ballou brings out the band’s chugging riffs, noisy leads and blast beats so that they are all individually distinguishable. Even more noticeable is that the vocals are (somewhat) understandable and the listener can hear James’ lyrical themes about railing against authority and the struggle of the human condition.
Nails just came through with Venomous Concept and here is some live footage from their stop in Albany.
Unsilent Death was originally released earlier this year on CD (Six Feet Under) and limited edition vinyl (now sold out). Southern Lord recently reissued the new disc on both CD and 180 gram black vinyl.
New Southern Lord signees Nails are kicking off a US tour this month which stops at Europa on Sept. 23rd. On the bill with Nails are Venomous Concept and Strong Intention. Tickets are $12 and the show is all ages.
NAILS’ music is beyond brutality; filthy, vicious and raw. Imagine a cross between the good Amrep bands of the nineties (Helmet, Hammerhead, Today is The Day, Unsane) and Cro-Mags Age of Quarrel riffage played at breakneck speeds. Their epic battle cry Unsilent Death was recorded during the cold winter of 2009 at Kurt Ballou’s (Converge, Trap Them, Disfear, Black Breath) Godcity Recording Studio. The CD version of Unsilent Death was originally released in very limited quantities by Six Feet Under records. The LP version was self released by the band on the band’s own Streetcleaner label and quickly sold through the 1000 piece pressing. Southern Lord is extremely honored to pick up the torch of this album and let it burn brightly through many more countless battles!
With plans already in place to record a new release for Southern Lord in early 2011, the NAILS crew will spend the rest of this year on the road. As previously announced, the band will take part in the Southern Lord-sponsored The Power Of The Riff Festival in Los Angeles on August 8th alongside Goatsnake, Black Breath, From Ashes Rise, Repulsion, the Animosity-era lineup of Corrosion of Conformity and countless more. In early September they embark on a cross-country rampage that will last over a month, including five dates opening for Venomous Concept.