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Nailshitter > From the Bowels of the Impaled > Reviews
Nailshitter - From the Bowels of the Impaled

We've All Been Robbed...Of Brilliance. - 90%

Brutality_Junkie, March 17th, 2013

There are many great mysteries in life, but among the greatest in my mind is the utter disappearance of the band Nailshitter. A petty query for most I’m sure, but when I first discovered Nailshitter, I had never heard anything more brutal than Cannibal Corpse and Necrophagist’s ‘Epitaph’. ‘From The Bowels Of The Impaled’ was one of the swift kicks in the pants that lead me to where I am today and in researching the band for any new material, I found that they had disbanded in late 2008–early 2009. I was completely taken aback. When I looked for potential reasons, I came up empty. I’m still perturbed by this fact; I saw potential for underground dominance when I heard this EP and I eagerly awaited any full length they may have been working on. The type of brutal death metal with the speed and intensity of grindcore Nailshitter played may not have been the most original within the scope of Floridian death metal, but not once have I heard anything I thoroughly dislike from this EP in all of my years of revisiting it. The vocals are harsh and uncompromising, the drumming is pounding and intense and the guitar work demonstrates certain traits I’d like to see more of in modern death metal, like medium paced grooves as opposed to all out slams, expert coordination with the drumming (even in its most dissonant expression) and lightning fast riffing that doesn’t showboat.

The EP starts off with ‘Gastric Impalement’ which already personifies everything that made me want to see Nailshitter have a long career; an immediate backhand from the guitar followed by a growling curbstomp that ceases only for moments at a time to ratchet up the insanity underlined by a vicious drum beating. As the song approaches its climax, most modern brutal death metal bands would throw in a slam, which of course I love, but not in the context of Nailshitter’s brutality. At about 2:36 into ‘Gastric Impalement’ a medium paced head crushing groove starts that’s too fast to be a slam but still much slower than the breakneck intensity of previous portions. In only one song, Nailshitter have demonstrated and articulated upon what was their own unique identity within the vast conglomerate of brutal death metal. As ‘Boiled In Gore’ kicks off, there’s no pause to catch your breath or collect your thoughts. Nailshitter’s greatest strength was their refusal to relent. Even on the slowest, grooviest moments here, there is no escape. Even at only 15 seconds, ‘Wading Through Bile’ will chew you up and spit you out. ‘The Art Of Extreme Torture’ and ‘As Maggots Pour From Her Ass’ close out the EP and are easily the two most brutal tracks here, especially ‘As Maggots Pour From Her Ass’. By the end of ‘From The Bowels Of The Impaled’s 14 minute running time, I defy you to not have to pick up pieces of your face.

I can think of no good reason for Nailshitter’s discontinuation. What should have been the savage beginning of a new band to be reckoned with remains now and forever the longest expression of ultimately destroyed potential. I miss this band for what they managed to accomplish on an EP with only five songs, their willingness to define themselves as they saw fit and not according to trends and the devastation that will never come from a full length that never materialized. A true shame. If you can find a copy of this EP, pick it up without hesitation. I did and I have zero complaints. The most I can hope for now is a sudden, unexpected reunion to set the record straight and fulfill their ultimate potential. While I’m dreaming, how about a four piece concert composed of Epicardiectomy, Cephalotripsy, Cerebral Incubation and Devourment? At least that has some small chance of happening.

More solid brutal death from central Florida - 83%

Noktorn, November 16th, 2006

The central Florida metal scene is a perpetually crowded one. As I've stated before, such artists fall into either black metal or brutal death metal nine times out of ten, and the vast majority of them are pretty mediocre. Nailshitter falls into the BDM category, but luckily is another one of the artists who is able to supercede many of their lesser competitors. Releasing their debut EP 'From The Bowels Of The Impaled' on Extreme Underground Records, they are sure to rapidly become a powerful force in the Florida underground and will likely spread far beyond the local scene they developed in.

What we have here is a fairly even-handed variety of brutal death metal. Nailshitter on this EP strikes a good balance between rivers of double bass and blasting and the fill-a-second style of many brutal death groups out today. Their music is refreshingly devoid of breakdowns, working more with mid-fast grooves ala Inhume to add a layer of catchiness to their compositions. One might also find the barest traces of grindcore on occasions with a slightly punkier rhythm. The performances on 'From The Bowels Of The Impaled' are all very tight and capable, from the blitzing riffs to turn-on-a-dime vocals remniscient of a more guttural George Fischer. The music is reasonably technical, but not overbearingly so: generally just enough to add a bit of spin to the songs.

Songwriting is cleverer than typical brutal death metal, with twisty, often unexpected passages emerging at regular intervals. Take opener 'Gastric Impalement', with it's deliberate tom fills that lead one to think a Devourment-style breakdown is about to occur, but then leading into a mid-paced groove instead, or micro-track 'Wading Through Bile''s incredibly slow opening before exploding in the last few seconds of its existence. Overall, such elements go far to set Nailshitter apart from other brutal death metal bands; surely an important quality in such an incredibly crowded genre. They're no slouch on riffs, either: closer 'As Maggots Pour From Her Ass' is particularly infectious in this regard.

Complaints: at a mere five tracks and fourteen minutes, there's just not a lot to go on here. While the music contained is very good, it does raise concerns over whether the band will be able to keep the originality up for a full-length release. On the production front, it's rather too clean for my taste: I think this sort of music would sound better with a nice layer of grime over it to sicken it a tad more. Such clean production makes establishing atmosphere more difficult and has it lose the personal touch to some degree. Regardless, these are relatively minor issues when compared to the work as a whole.

Nailshitter's 'From The Bowels Of The Impaled' EP is a fine piece of brutal death metal that will surely please fans of the genre and likely many of those that normally aren't. Quality work by anyone's estimation.

(Originally written for www.grindingtheapparatus.net)