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NERVOSA
Victim Of Yourself

Napalm (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Brazil’s Nervosa are an all female trio who have been active since 2010. In 2012 they released a decent three-track EP (entitled Time Of Death) which showed a lot of promise, especially with the opening title track.

Clearly old school by nature, Nervosa dug their talons deep into my psyche and haven’t let go ever since, so it’s only right I should introduce you to this fearsome bunch. The band is fronted by Fernanda Lira, who also plays bass, and to be honest, she has such a fierce rasp that she would effortlessly put many fellow male singers to shame, such is her sickening screech. Nervosa also features guitarist Prika Amaral and newest member, drummer Pitchu Ferraz.

Admittedly, the debut EP had an almost murky quality, which bands tend to lose as they mature. Even so, Nervosa are still intent on puking out dirty, squalid Brazilian thrash metal that harkens back to those grottier days of early Sepultura and the likes. What is clear after just a couple of listens is that Nervosa boast unbridled arrogance and swagger, which immediately makes itself known on the opener ‘Twisted Values’ with its bruising bass and more guttural vocal squeals.

This time round, due to modern dynamics, there is a cleaner, more professional approach. The thrash is far meatier and harder to get off the bone as well, but it’s still as potent and as rancid as ever. Ferraz is quite a beast on the kit as she gallops along, knotting together the bass and spikey guitar as the trio race between tempos, yet always remaining volatile to the end.

Of the 11 tracks on offer (excluding the short opening intro), it’s nigh on impossible to find any real flaw, such is the energy and belligerence showcased. The chugging ‘Wake Up And Fight’, the speedy ‘Morbid Courage’, and the sadistic strains of ‘Into Mosh Pit’ often refuse to nod at any modern aesthetics. Instead, they merely intend to slash, hack and slice at the throat, resulting in tracks such as ‘Nasty Injury’ and the demonic ‘Deep Misery’, where Lira really comes into her own, seething and squawking her way through those hardy riffs and bony bass-lines. The trio really turn up the heat and the pace with the closing ‘Urânio Em Nós’, however, which is a pulverising number of hyper drums and vicious guitar.

For me, Nervosa have actually been let down by a more polished production and that rather generic thrash cover art. These are a bunch of talented and sneering femme fatales who’ve carved out a serious and often hostile thrash record that should, in reality, have more in common with the past than the modern glut of mediocre acts. So, don’t be put off by the sleeve but instead brace yourself for an intimidating meeting with Brazil’s new queens of thrash metal. 2014 just got obliterated!

Neil Arnold

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