Todd Jones is an angry man and he has impossibly high standards for anything wrathful. Even though he obliterated our psyches with some of the most skull crushing riffs of all-time in legendary beatdown hardcore outfit Terror early in his career, it was somehow not heavy and uncompromising enough for him. I’m sure there were many other reasons why he split, but I choose to believe the call of ear-splitting powerviolence was just too enticing for a pissed off wacko like Jones to turn down.
He’s been at the helm of Nails for the last fifteen years and it’s been a legendary run by any standards of murderous music and this run isn’t over yet. Nails are back with a brand new lineup and a record appropriately called Every Bridge Burning. If you’re in the mood to socially or literally burn bridges, this is the album for you.
In the time-honored tradition of powerviolence, Every Bridge Burning has ten songs and clocks in at a whopping 17 minutes and 44 seconds of music. It was produced by the legendary Kurt Ballou and the artwork was created by U.S black metal pioneer Jef Whitehead. A lot of smart extreme music minds revolved around the making of this record, which is normally a telltale sign that’s it’s going to fucking rule.
The opener and single Imposing Will is as straightforward and energetic of a proposition for Nails: blast beats and raspy, scornful, rapid-fire vocals from an energized and inspired Todd Jones. I love how it transitions into a groovier number once Jones has bled out his venom. He ends the song with a simple, but stylish and badass: it will never be enough/no matter how deep it cuts/it will never be enough. This song will not revolutionize your understanding of Nails, but if it’s really what you’re looking for at this point in their career, you might just not be that into them.
Punishment Map is the second shortest song on the record at 63 seconds. It has a more hardcore punk vibe with the blistering speed and anthemic choruses. The riffs are fast and dense, creating a suffocating atmosphere like you’re being attacked by multiple strangers at a basement show while the lights are out. It’s one of the things about Nails that I love. There’s an apocalyptic quality to their sound that’s entirely their own. Their classic sound feels like finding a record int he rubble of a house fire. The title song features some of the best musicianship on the record. It reminded me of old school Sepultura on steroids and anger pills. New guitarist Shelby Lermo (Thanatotherion, Ulthar) aptly surfs the line between death metal and hardcore punk, providing memorable, fist pumping riffs as a result.
At a mesmerizing 2:45 minutes, Give Me the Painkiller is the second longest song on Every Bridge Burning. It’s also perhaps my favorite song on it. At least it’s one of them. It features old school speed metal riffs (and I’m talking pre-1985 here), a wild guitar solo and another of these god-tiered choruses that make you feel validated for listening to metal in order to process your negative emotions: painkiller/give me the painkiller/painkiller/take me to the place where I can feel nothing. Somehow, taking these high-flying riffs and cramping them into Nails’ speed and density really works.
Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy is a slower, somewhat of a mid-tempo song (Nails is never REALLY mid-tempo, but this is as closer as they can get) where Shelby Lermo leaves the floor to Todd Jones’ unyielding fury by letting his riffs linger. He also uses chugging riffs that anchor the power of the song quite efficiently alongside new drummer Carlos’ Cruz low-key versatile drumming. Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy is not quite as pummeling as the previous songs on the record, but it hits harder. It’s more of a zoinked out beatdown hardcore song than straight powerviolence. Trapped is straight, dissonant, muscular and only lasts 38 seconds. I mean, it’s a Nails song. Not much else to say about it. It easily could’ve been on Unsilent Death or Abandon All Life. No one would’ve noticed were it not on the record, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Some of the most interesting riffing ideas are on Made Up Your Mind. They are heavy and dramatic even if the songs is so fucking fast, it’s over before its started. Carlos Cruz and Andrew Solid really lean into the rhythm section here in order to make the song powerful and unrelenting. Todd Jones has chosen new members who really complement each other and know how to play without ego. Solis and Cruz are inaudible where they’re doing their job right half of the time, but they’re amazing at it. They make everything else sound big and mean. Made Up Your Mind cascades into the blast beat and dissonant riffs galore of Dehumanized, another song with a powerful, anthemic chorus that will be fun to sing live from an audience perspective. It’s a little more straight to the point than Made Up Your Mind, but it’s a lot of fun.
You can find more speed metal ideas on I Can’t Turn it Off and once again, it works wonderfully well. Who would’ve thought you could distill such old concepts into Nails’ primordial muck of aggression and contempt? There’s another wicked and unexpected solo from Shelby Lermo. I’ve really enjoyed that guy’s output in 2024 so far. The closer No More Rivers to Cross is another song closer to mid-tempo than Nails’ historically blistering pace. It features some of the most intricate riffs and one of Todd Jones’ most commanding performances. It’s not necessarily what Nails plays usually that strikes the imagination, but how hard they play it and No More Rivers to Cross is a good example of how much intent they can put in a performance.
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I was so happy to finally hear Every Bridge Burning. It strikes a pleasant balance between Nails’ nuclear levels of aggression and quietly implemented new ideas that expand the sound of the band without ever making a compromise. It’s bigger, bolder and badder than anything they’ve ever done prior and I believe it will be received as such. It was worth the eight years wait. Todd Jones is angrier than ever, but there’s more scope and commanding power to what he does now. He’s also extremely well surrounded with musicians who play off each other well. Nails is not an easy band to “get into”, you either get it or you don’t, but Every Bridge Burning them at their most expansive.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have bridges to burn.
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