Wednesday 15 March 2017

BLACK NAIL

BandBLACK NAIL
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Screamo / Emo-violence / Skramz / Grind / Metalcore
Related artists?.
CountryChicago, Illinois USA
Years Active2016-present
Song: "black as midnight on a moonless night...pretty black"
Album: "Black Nail"
Year: 2016
For fans ofLetters To Catalonia, .gif from god, Me And Him Call It Us, Celebration, Republic Of Dreams, Caust, Swan Of Tuonela, Mothlight, The 21st Agenda, Crowning and Vein aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): Structures // Agony
This post's artist is from the March 2017 Mix. This is track #2.
You can download: the March 2017 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2017 Mix#4 here.

BLACK NAIL is fucking awesome. Releasing but six songs over two EPs, every song is a direct punch in the gut. I recently premiered their new EP 'A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma' in late February 2017, only to have this review already line up for March of 2017. Therefore I'm going to review the older 2016 'Black Nail' EP and then do some shameful copy/pasting. Observe.

The debut 'Black Nail' four-song cassette EP begins with "black as midnight on a moonless night...pretty black" which is almost relaxed sounding for BLACK NAIL, but by 40 seconds the murder riffs come out full force and lay waste to the remainder of this slasher track. "here's a list of my demands and every regret i've ever had" keeps a steady and intimidating pace for as long as they can...which explodes into chaos by the one-minute mark. "the vultures are waiting to pick yr bones" is another one of my favourites, as it creates madness early but keeps it all in check with some really tight stops and starts. By 40 seconds the songs shifts into demonic mode and at 56 seconds the band rains down death upon the listener. Closer "i wanna die like god" is the band's lone foray into 3+ minute material, clocking in at 4:41. It broods and festers for the first minute with plodding bass and yelling before picking up the pace with some crazy-ass drumming and general sound not unlike my beloved Crowning. The song slows down again soon after and layers increasingly emotional spoken words over building instrumentals that eventually collapse under their own weight at 2:45 and the track disintegrates into a pool of thick, black and poisonous sludge.

The original premiere of 'A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma' was posted on February 24th, 2017 and here is the relevant synopsis:

"The explosiveness and sheer intensity is overwhelming and will leave fans of Me And Him Call It UsLetters To Catalonia and .gif from god in a euphoric state. Opening track "Holding a Moth by the Wings (Hands for Scissors)" is an eerie and feedback saturated homage to Me And Him Call It Us, combining poisonous vocals with crushing instrumentals. The songs speeds up substantially at 1:18 and disintegrates into black hole breakdowns by 1:30. The final track on the EP is "It's Not Just a Feeling, You are Being Watched", which is a mere 1:53 of forehead slapping awesomeness. Opting for a faster opening and scathing vocals amidst here and there mini-breakdowns, the song goes fucking ballistic at 1:38 and will have fans of .gif from god and Letters To Catalonia on their knees praying to the gods of spazzy, metallic screamo. Seriously this song is one of the best you'll hear in 2017."

So there you have it, the screamy and grindy metalcore is as unrelenting as it is pummeling, with the band opting for panicked chords, chaos and murderous breakdowns. The band will be touring in March to SXSW with the band Tweak. Insanely stoked to hear anything else the band touches and I hope ZBR will be involved in some way, cuz that'd be sick.


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DISCOGRAPHY

2016 - Black Nail cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here)

2017 - A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2017) BLACK NAIL - full set

(2017) BLACK NAIL - "It's Not Just a Feeling, You are Being Watched" (from 'A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma')

(2017) BLACK NAIL - "Holding a Moth by the Wings (Hands for Scissors)" (from 'A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma')

(2016) BLACK NAIL - "black as midnight on a moonless night...pretty black" (from 'Black Nail')

(2016) BLACK NAIL - "the vultures are waiting to pick yr bones" (from 'Black Nail')

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BLACK NAIL additional links

Bandcamp

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