Clocking in at just under 14 minutes, the new album by Southern California hardcore band NAILS is nothing short of awesome. Every one of the album’s ten tracks will pummel into you unrelentingly, as good hardcore and grindcore should. The Six Feet Under Records website describes NAILS as sounding like “Entombed covering Napalm Death and Drop Dead“, which is damn near spot on. Interesting enough, the album was recorded at Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou’s Godcity recording studio, with Kurt producing. That should already tell you that this album will be good.

The album opens to immediate chaos and aural violence with the 32 second “Conform”. The term “powerviolence” becomes perfectly clear. Before you even realize that song’s over, you’re under hell-fire with more pummeling blasts, maniacal screams, and grinding and screeching guitars that continue throughout the next three tracks, nonstop. This album doesn’t seem to want to let up.

Amidst the pissed off chants of “Suffering Soul”, NAILS step back from the chaos just a bit and play some hardcore riffs with some slower groove. Nails continues the pace into the title track “Unsilent Death”.

NAILS knows how to make 14 minutes feel like a long time, and they make good use of their time. The songs blend together seamlessly at times, giving the illusion of lasting much longer. Speaking on the album’s structure, I’d believe it if this album was written as one piece of music broken up into tracks.

The album is still pummeling away in fury like a jackhammer. A short guitar solo is thrown out in “No Servant”. Now it’s back to business as usual with “Scapegoat”, which leads into the album’s longest song and closing track “Depths”. The guitars are the main voice here. Layered screeches, noise, and feedback take over a lot of the song, creating the sonic equivalent of disaster. A considerably slower and heavy as fuck riff with proper use of pinch harmonics lead the track to close with a mood if impending doom, ending the album in guitar feedback. What a perfect closer.

NAILS – Unsilent Death is a great grind album. Although short, it does exactly what it’s supposed to. If you’re a fan of Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Napalm Death, and Brutal Truth, you need to check out NAILS right away. You can stream the tracks “Your God” and “Suffering Soul” here, as well as buying the album on preorder.

NAILS – Unsilent Death gets

4/5 – Great

- JR