Nervosa, Lich King, Hatriot and Malefic set to ELECTRIFY Atlanta
Written by Scott “Old Man References” Belzer | September 13th, 2024
I’ve always associated thrash metal with getting struck by lightning. Maybe it’s the pointy logos. Perhaps it’s because of the electric (ayooo) guitar solos and gatling gun beats per minute on every album. Maybe it’s just the.. ‘80s of it all. The music is energetic, folks, if anything. Electricity. Shock. Energy. You get it.
Brazil’s NERVOSA isn’t just a strike of lighting, though – they’re a whole goddamn hurricane. Since 2010, the band has effortlessly combined death and thrash into a cohesive onslaught of riffs, gallops, blast beats, screeches, and general malice. There’s something for everyone in Nervosa’s catalogue – headbang worthy breakdowns, circle pit conjuring rhythms, rage-inducing lyrics about society’s failures – and the band’s growth can be charted with each release. Every album is tighter than the last. Each closing track is a step up from the one preceding it. The band isn’t just churning out albums – they’re honing a sound.
Nervosa’s 2023 release, Jailbreak, is the latest and greatest example. You can feel the decade’s worth of experience in every earth-shaking melody, which fly by faster than a fighter jet. But it’s not just speed; there’s enough weight and robustness behind each riff to steamroll a Komatsu tractor. The riffs reach down into your guts, grab them by the fistful, and inspire the most primal of urges. Screams? Leaping up a mountain? Throwing the hardest punch you’ve ever thrown? Running face first into the closest barrier? Grabbing your partner and tonguing them like there’s no tomorrow? Yes, si, oui, ja, hai.
What’s more, it’s not just riffs for riff’s sake. There’s emotion and well-crafted songwriting behind each maelstrom, with “Seed of Death” standing out as a personal tribute to the self and staying true to convictions. The song slows down the album’s break-neck pace and features acoustic guitar layered on top of the rhythm and leads. I’d call it a ballad if it actually shed an inch of its brutality, but it doesn’t. Despite the pace, it maintains Nervosa’s razor-sharp edge. The track’s transition to “Jailbreak” is clearly one of the album’s peaks, as the rebellious lyricism continues with a rallying cry of liberation amid adversity:
March to the beat
Of your heart
This is your destiny’s call
No need to compromise
Be your own god
This would come off as trite if it weren’t for Nervosa’s expertise. The band clearly knows how to build a moment and utilize an album’s atmosphere to their advantage. If it doesn’t connect for ya, you probably haven’t been weathering the storm Lieutenant Dan style (with relish). How’s that for a reference, huh?
“You call this a storm?!”
Nervosa will be bringing ALL the riffs to Boggs Social & Supply on Tuesday, September 24 with support from Lich King, Hatriot, and Malefic. If the venue doesn’t burn to the ground, it’s sure to be swept away by a Bill Paxton-approved twister due to drunkenly moshing metalheads. You like that? That’s a 1996 reference, y’all. And there’s plenty more where that came from.
RIP though.
Massachusetts’ LICH KING embrace the derisive moniker of “pizza thrash” by pummeling listeners with soaring guitar solos and beats faster than a road-runner on cocaine. The band pairs well-crafted metal with tongue-in-cheek lyrics concerning the ever present title character (the Lich King, duh), societal failures, and even their greasy, basement-trapped general audience (see: me). Lich King is here for a good time, not a long time. Their ethos seems to be get in, get everyone ripped, and get out. It’s always fun to sing along to “Black Metal Sucks” and “Preschool Cesspool,” and Lich King knows this; their modus operandi is to have fun, first and foremost—haters be damned. If you haven’t experienced The King in the flesh, mark your calendars, friends, and come circle pit with me.
Not that one, but do you think Elvis would have been a Slayer fan or gone for another of the big four? What about Testament or Exodus? I could see him walking up to Lars and being like, “Thassa really cool groove you got, man.”
California hailers HATRIOT match Nervosa’s overall vibe by combining thrash metal with melodic death metal for a chef’s kiss-inducing and energizing end. If you aren’t taken in by the stylistic shreds and panic-striken rhythms.. just wait a bit, as the band also embraces breakdowns and mid-tempo melodies. Two of Hatriot’s members are Nick and Cody Souza, son of Exodus frontman Steve Souza, and the influence is very evident. Hatriot’s commitment to the cause—general disdain for society, high-energy hijinks, and pummeling listeners with a barrage of well-crafted metal—is no less diminished. If their recently released single, “Forest of Illusion,” is a statement of intent, bring it on, baby.
Atlanta’s MALEFIC fit in quite nicely by slinging all of the above – but with a bit more affection for blackened and death-ridden aspects. Watching drummer/vocalist Aaron Baumoel do double duty AND bring the energy is truly a sight to behold. The band’s overall sensibilities are present in their songwriting—Malefic know how to weave an atmosphere that’s dark and brooding without ever losing a hardened edge. Atlanta has a SLEW of hardworking bands right now, and Malefic is most certainly among them. HAIL MALEFIC.
A newer reference for you babies (but still pretty old).
-Scott Belzer