Point Blank
Nailbomb
Roadrunner Records
Reviewed by Kest Courtice

Well, doesn't the name say it all? Nearly an hour of intense industrial grindcore pandemonium, played by none other than Max Cavalera (Sepultura) and Alex Newport (Fudge Tunnel).

It also features other musicians from Fear Factory, Sepultura and Wicked Death. The music bears some resemblance to Sepultura's latest album, Chaos AD, but Nailbomb have incorporated the punk/grindcore attitude into their music much more than Sepultura. There are plenty of heavy guitar riffs, but this is balanced out with percussion, feedback and crunching guitar effects.

They have also got into noise samples in a similar way to Ministry. The singers sound like old style grindcore: not demonic (and comic!) growls but gravelly bellowing, which is to be expected given Cavalera and Newport's previous vocals record.

In general, it is among the best of 1990s grindcore/industrial/thrash metal: pissed off with the world, angry and loud. Max Cavalera, from the friendly (not!) metropolis of Belo Horizonte in Brazil, sings the first words, “Carve your rights into your arm so they won't get taken away”.

This uncompromising attitude is the essence of Nailbomb: extreme heavy music and slogans of rebellion against authority, repression, religion and consumerism. It's not pleasant, but it articulates powerfully the alienation and anger of a whole generation of exploited, abused youth in phrases such as “Misery is what we see ... what do you expect me to be?”.

Nailbomb don't focus their anger very explicitly, just referring to a rather vague “you” as the enemy to which many of their songs are addressed. However, they are pretty clear about the crimes of this enemy. “Violence is what you breed/ Racism is what you breed ...”. On the sleeve they give the addresses for “Rock Out Censorship” and “Musicians Against Racism and Sexism”, with the suggestion “Get off your ass and write!”

If you just want to check out where thrash music is at in the 1990s, or if you want to keep your collection up to date, Point Blank is definitely worth getting.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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