Here we go, boys and girls! NERVOSA is back with a new album, Slave Machine (out now via Napalm Records), and it will hurt so bad you’ll beg for more. Prika Amaral (vocals, guitars) seemingly breathes fire from open to close, burning all noggins in sight.
The opening salvo of “Impending Doom” and “Slave Machine” unloads into all who stand in the way of Helena Kotina’s guitars, Hel Pyre and Emmelie Herwegh’s bass, and Michaela Naydenova’s thunderous drumming.
But the real gem hits you over the head with “Ghost Notes.” As ferocious as it is melodic, this one is now firmly placed in my canon of NERVOSA favorites. The group may be on album number six, but I’ll put this track up against anything they’ve done before. So good!
“Beast of Burden” comes tumbling down the hill like the famous boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark, looking to crush everyone and anyone. And “You Are Not a Hero” is so friggin’ well done I almost wrecked my neck. I guaran-damn-tee many of you will do the same.
“Hate” has some frisky fretwork, and the band just pounds you into oblivion. The same goes for “The New Empire.” You might wanna have your chiropractor on speed dial for these, just sayin’. “Crawl for Your Pride” calls to mind some early ’90s thrash, including MEGADETH, and that is meant in the most positive fashion.
Now, “Learn or Repeat” and “The Call” come on like zombies looking to eat your brains and wash them down with blood. Closer “Speak in Fire” brings the album together and wraps it all up with a pretty, bloody bow, making you wanna go back for more rounds.
I’ve had Slave Machine for a few weeks now, and I can honestly say this album seriously destroys. You’d be a fool not to fire this one up. Well done, NERVOSA. Well done, indeed.
STANDOUT TRACKS: “Ghost Notes,” “Hate,” “You Are Not a Hero,” “Speak in Fire”
RATING: 9/10
—THE MAESTRO
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