Nail Within

The members of Israel's Nail Within paid their dues with countless obscure extreme metal bands before joining forces, and this goes a long way to explaining the confidence and maturity present eponymous debut of 2003. Obtaining the services of Kreator and Sodom producer Harris Johns was also quite a coup, as his past experiences with these Teutonic purveyors of ultra-thrash played right into Nail Within's desired death-thrash aesthetic. As a result, the band's material possesses a timeless quality which both hails back to thrash metal's untainted early years, while keeping a firm grasp of modern sensibilities championed by its direct byproducts: death and black metal. Short, powerful, crunchy bursts like "Inhuman Conditions," "Dirty Coloured Knife," and "Elastic" are prime examples, while longer, more complex compositions like "My Wallow" and "King Obscenity" manage to push the envelope a bit, using melodies and additional textures to great effect. Vocalist Yishai Swearts, though capable enough, doesn't really assert himself as a true force here, which might explain the occasional use of guest vocalists (Kreator's Mille Petrozza and ex-At the Gates front man Tomas Lindberg), but this isn't to say his diminished role detracts from proceedings. All in all, Nail Within's is a very promising debut. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|