Nail Within
Self-Titled
7.6
What's the coolest thing about Israel? It's certainly not the fact that the area is blinded by religion. Instead, it's that they actually have a metal scene happening! Nail Within is one of a handful of metal bands to come from that part of the world. And let me say, thrash is alive and well! Nail Within reminds me of semi-old skool thrash bands like the older Kreator material. The music is tight, yet still very thrash inspired. Throw in some black metal influences and you have an excellent foundation from which to build upon. Which brings me to my next point. Building on that Kreator style, Nail Within was produced by Harris Johns who built his legendary reputation as a producer during the 80's with classic albums such as "Pleasure To Kill" (Kreator) "Agent Orange" (Sodom) "Dimension Hatros" (Voivod) and his work with Helloween, Celtic Frost, Immolation, ect. On top of that, the Nail Within album features guest appearances done by Mille Petrozza (Kreator) Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates, Lock Up, The Great Deceiver) Robert Gonella (Assassin) Zeev Tananboim (Salem) and Harris Johns himself. Although I don't feel as though guest back-up vocals typically add anything substantial, I'm still obliged to mention it. The album held my attention pretty well. Some of the metal out there is so rehashed and uninteresting that it can be torturous just trying to listen to the whole damn thing...and I say that as a life-long metalhead! And although the Kreator influences on this album are strong, the music still has a life of it's own without sounding like a rip-off. The music flows well by offering plenty of solid riffs and progressions. Those progressions contribute to the success of the gravel style vocals by adding a melodic feel instead of a purely "in your face" vocal ensemble. All the songs feel as if they are taking you somewhere, a destination if you will, instead of the all too typical feel of being driven around in circles. Or even worse, random ramblings. I thought the production was very good. The vocals and guitars stand out to me most. I really liked the sound of those. The bass was again, fairly typical. The drums are performed well. There's nothing real technical in the drum department, but the tempo is strong and drumming is easily discernable. I thought the actual sound of the drums was a little on the weak side and would have benefited from a little more oomph in the mix. To me, the drum mix is fairly typical European. An overall good sound, but too restrained. I want to hear that crack of the snare, the deep sound of the toms and the pound of the kick. But that shouldn't keep you from picking this one up. Overall this is a very good album. Not a legendary, but enjoyable and commendable. Most songs are well written even though they are a little limited in scope. I thought the song "King Obscenity" was a little more memorable compared to the others. That song utilizes some clean guitar and vocals and has some very catchy passages. This album is pretty solid and gets my recommendation.
