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It takes a special kind of hard-hitting for Nails<\/a><\/strong> to carry so much pedigree, considering the fact their three LPs only add up to 53 minutes of music. Along with a few splits, eps and singles, Unsilent Death<\/em><\/a>, Abandon All Life<\/em><\/a>, and You Will Never Be One of Us<\/em><\/a> suddenly brought the depths of grind, power violence, and the Swedish underground into the Nuclear Blast space. While he describes Nails<\/a><\/strong> hardcore band, band leader Todd Jones has never shied away from name-dropping the metal he loves and incorporating it into his hardcore. Whether it\u2019s Cavalera-era Sepultura<\/a><\/strong>, Entombed<\/a><\/strong>, or Japanese hardcore bands, the man finds the perfect balance of remaining a student of the game while bringing freshness to his brand-aural blunt-force trauma. But in the eight-year gap between albums, Jones had a new lineup. While entering such a formidable band must have been daunting, Every Bridge Burning<\/em> shows that the Nails<\/a><\/strong> M.O. remains the same: to do as much damage in as little time as possible.<\/p>\n The blows come crashing in immediately, as \u201cImposing Will\u201d stampedes from thudding guitar stabs, a whacking blast beat, and a devastating mosh part in under a minute and a half. Jones\u2019 voice continues its interesting evolution, this time resembling a demonic cat hacking up a furball. His glass-gargling snarls give the grinding violence a wilder edge, much like Full of Hell<\/a><\/strong> or Dystopia<\/strong>. Kurt Ballou\u2019s iconic production continues to work its enduring magic, with equal levels of clarity and grime. As bands such as Knocked Loose begin putting hip-hop producers behind the mixing board to get that oft-saught-after subtones, it\u2019s nice to know that this Swede-core aesthetic retains its place in the culture. The saw can indeed still be law when a band knows how to use it\u2026 and Nails<\/a><\/strong> sure know their way around buzzsaw guitar tones.<\/p>\n If \u201cUnsilent Death\u201d harked to Chaos AD<\/em>, and \u201cWide Open Wound\u201d to Wolverine Blues<\/em>, then \u201cGive Me The Painkiller\u201d brings the Mot\u00f6rhead wing of metal into its bare-bones assault. Granted, it\u2019s Mot\u00f6rhead on crack, but the galloping drums, hammer on pull offs and spirited guitar solos make the old-school speed metal vibe a fantastic addition to the Nails<\/a><\/strong> playbook. On the other hand, \u201cLacking The Ability To Process Empathy\u201d proves that Nails<\/a><\/strong> can still go straight for the jugular with a primitive half-time groove and chug-tastic beatdowns without coming off the same. Maybe it\u2019s because it\u2019s been so long since the last full-course meal from the band, but Nails<\/a><\/strong> clearly wrote this album as hungrily as their fans waited for it.<\/p>\n \n