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Napalm Records – Out Now.
Press releases are like propaganda leaflets: they allow you quick access to information otherwise unattainable, but by nature they are massively biased and their accuracy questionable.
Normally I try not to pay much attention to such documents but when you get ones like that related to “Victim Of Yourself”, the debut release of the Brazilian all-girl Thrash trio Nervosa, you simply have to stop and take notice.
Why? Let’s just say that not many debut releases receive highly positive comments and support from legends of the scene such as Schmier (Destruction), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) and Bobby Blitz (Overkill). Impressed and intrigued in equal terms I began listening to the twelve compositions on offer.
First, came amazement. The album is graced with a powerful and well balanced sound, Fernanda Lira’s screamy/throaty vocals and Prika Amaral’s riffs are solid and one more commanding than the other, while Pitchu Ferraz’s drumming is, simply said, explosive.
It takes a few good spins, however, before you begin to realise that not all is as great as it seems. Though fairly unique, Fernanda Lira’s vocals do not always complement the material on offer.
More importantly, however, what this album seriously lacks is top quality lead guitar work, as the few Slayer-inspired short solos on offer are neither enough, nor appropriate, for the needs of this album.
Sadly, and with minor exceptions, rather than enjoying twelve well balanced compositions, listeners will find themselves exposed to constant rhythmical changes, trying to focus on choosing which of the many quality riffs are to their liking – hardly the main purpose of any cleverly crafted tune.
It is through the sounds of falling rain and machine gun fire that the album makes its introduction and the first few compositions are among the finest.
“Twisted Values” operates a massive mid-tempo riff, while “Justice Be Done” contains, apart from Slayer influenced leads, one of the fastest head-banging riffs ever. Simple in structure and fairly unimaginative, drumming excluded, is the duet “Wake Up And Fight” / “Nasty Injury”, while the pounding drum themes of “Envious” will reignite your faith in this band.
The second half of the album is, sadly, not as impressive as the first. Just as there is nothing massively wrong with songs like “Morbid Courage”, “Death”, “Into Mosh Pit” and “Deep Misery”, there’s also nothing truly inspiring about them to help them truly stand out – something that, on the other hand, the killer-riffed “Victim of Yourself” has achieved hands down.
Slightly out of character, but quite fitting to the album’s concept, “Uranio Em Nos” is a typical Punk-infused composition in the vein of mid-90s Sepultura and Ratos de Porão which concludes the album on a truly pleasant note.
Though I both appreciate and am quite supportive of what these girls are trying to achieve here, I also think that there’s quite some work to be done before Nervosa are able to provide us with something truly inspiring.
The foundations are definitely there: passion and energy are barely controllable, riffs are strong and commanding and the drumming is of the highest possible standards.
If, now, they can switch from placing masses of riffs together to actually creating well-balanced compositions then the future is theirs for the taking.
John Stefanis
Rating: *** (3.0/5.0)
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