Nails
Unsilent Death

April 2011
Released: 2010, Southern Lord
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz

UNSILENT DEATH is the debut album from California noise/grind/crust/core trio Nails. Born from the mind of Todd Jones (ex-Terror), Nails is an extreme entity that seems content to revel in anonymity, as there’s little press info about the band itself. The band’s website offers no information on the band, and their page on Southern Lord’s website doesn’t offer up much more, but UNSILENT DEATH has earned solid marks from both fans and critics and its reputation has grown primarily from underground word of mouth. Consider that to be the best kind of referral you can hope for, and it holds true with UNSILENT DEATH. Originally released in limited distribution by Six Feet Under Records, Southern Lord Records snapped up the album and has given it a second chance at life.



Musically, Nails sounds like an amalgam of early Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Discharge, with a pinch of NYHC testosterone for good measure. The ten tracks on the album are short bursts of grinding aggression; here and gone within fifteen minutes, but with each tune acting as an IED that spreads lethal doses of musical shrapnel. Most of the tunes are bare bones musical hostility in the 30-second range, with the exception of the 3-minute + closer, “Depths.” It’s like the musical equivalent of a hit and run accident – it’s an intense experience when you’re deep in it, and when it’s over you ask yourself “holy crap, what just happened?”



I haven’t got a clue what Nails’ long term plans are or what the band’s mission statement is, but I do know that UNSILENT DEATH is a harsh and menacing album that holds its own in an era where harsh and menacing albums seem to be in ready supply. Not for the faint of heart but certainly for the angry and unsettled, UNSILENT DEATH is available through Southern Lord now.