Album Review: Nervosa - Slave Machine
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
Having witnessed Nervosa twice during their opening slot on last year’s Thrash of the Titans tour, I was eager to grab their latest release and delve right into their onslaught of furious riffs. “Slave Machine” is their 6th studio album, and with founding guitarist Prika Amaral firmly in the vocalist seat it comes at you like a missile being launched at your face.
Having chatted with the band in Bristol last year, they are a friendly bunch, but when they flick that switch, they transform into this metal beast that wants to eat you alive. Opening track “Impending Doom” builds ominously, before the dual guitars of Amaral and talented lead Helena Kotina burst into action with terrifyingly brutal riffs. With a guttural roar and immense guitar, we are introduced to the album title track, as they deliver a song that is pure thrash reinvented for a modern audience.
Yet it’s “Ghost Notes” that gets my head moving more than the previous two, as it delivers on so many levels. It’s hard hitting, yet subtle, with Amaral’s growling vocal piercing the soul. There’s a delicate bass interlude from Hel Pyre, before the solo elevates the song further. Things get sharper and more intense across “Beast of Burden” with more impressive guitar work from Kotina. I suppose if you can’t learn anything from watching and touring with one of thrash metal’s greatest, Testament’s Alex Skolnick, then you never will, and her playing shows great improvement.
They have that crunchier thrash sound reverberating throughout “You are Not a Hero” with razor sharp lyrics such as “you are not a hero, and we don’t need one” being on point for the current influencer world we live in. The intro to “Hate” is fun, with pulsating drums at the forefront, before the guitars power through in a most brutal of ways. The riffs are menacing yet controlled so you are focused on the energy firing out of the speakers, whereas the band showcase a more venomous sound across “The New Empire”.
There’s certainly no let up from the quintet, with additional bassist Emmelie Herwagh adding more substance and weight to the music, as you’ll hear on “30 Seconds” and “Crawl for your Pride”, where they deliver social commentary with punchy lyrics such as “No more silence, no more chains, I’ve burned your name in all my flames”. They aren’t afraid of shying away from issues and with more riffs bursting out on this one, it feels like a very polished album that’s full of raw aggression.
On “Learn or Repeat” and “The Call” you can hear the band break into modern groove territory whilst still staying true to their old school thrash roots. Both are savage in their delivery, but show progression in their writing skills, before the fearsome final track “Speak in Fire” which has an ominous aura. With more excellent drums and guitar work, it ignites with another Kotina solo and as the band say in the song, “Still, I stay, begging for more” is exactly how you’ll feel after listening to this album.
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