Album Review: Nale – Death, Skulls & Satan

Stockholm’s newest rising stars, Nale, have bestowed us with their sophomore release following 2012’s Ghost Road Blues, and we have to say it is a surprising one. In order to describe it, it is firstly important to remember that first impressions are not always as they seem. We begin with the Swedish quartet banging down the castle doors at midnight with “Slither”.

No, not that one. This isn’t the badass, sleazy old banger we all played on Guitar Hero III when we were twelve. Even you, Big Dave, especially you. But we can definitely hear Velvet Revolver’s influence later on in the album. We’ll get to that.

Can’t you just feel the Lamb of God vibes from the opening verse? “Slither” as an opening track is just the assault to the senses it needs to be to initially grab you by the throat, and sporting echoes of the Cathouse classic “Redneck”, to our delight. This one is dripping with snarling, face tearing early 2000s metal feels. Rhythmically Mathias Blom’s vocals take on a similar cookie monster form to Coal Chamber’s Dez Fafara and just a hint of the late Wayne Static, if you listen carefully enough. The chorus has a wonderfully melodic shift without losing any of its heaviness. Combined with the next track “Filth, chaotic enough to entice the formation of a wall of death when played live, and track five, “Exit, which would send you straight to A&E minor injuries to mend those fingers from attacking the replay button for the epicness of the last minute of the outro, the fans would start to think they have the gist of what the band is about stylistically by now, as one normally would. These songs have a fairly 00s hardcore vibe, so this must be their sound overall.

WRONG.

By the third track the feel of it all takes a total U-turn. Out of nowhere is this sleazy, classic rock anthem, and we are transported to the Rainbow on Sunset Blvd. Not even The Spanish Inquisition expected that one. Behold the reigning champion of the record: old school hard rock at its best brandishing a chorus that has the earworm quality to piss you off at work for the rest of the week. “Dead Man’s Song” with its talk of “singers and saints” has the listener wondering why the Jack Daniels is always gone, if there’s a Nando’s nearby for a hangover cure and who that voluptuous tattooed chick in their bed was when they woke up this morning. So many questions…

That is, until the title track comes in and throws us all again, giving us a cheeky nod to the early 80s punk scene. No, grandma, we can’t make out what he’s singing either. All we know is that it’s awesome. And that it sounds like Blom is clearly channelling Dead Kennedy’s signature ten-miles-a-minute style. Right until the end with the last flourish of vocals, which has convinced us that Glenn Danzig burst into the booth at the last minute and nicked the microphone.

This punk rock audacity is something that pops up regularly from here on in, notably on “No Escape, which sounds like Megadeth replaced Dave Mustaine with that bloke from The Offspring. He’s sounding pretty fly for a Swedish guy, too. There is a thrash influence there and definitive 80s guitar work from the get go. It manages to mix all three styles together almost effortlessly. It’s breakneck speed is something even Lemmy would be proud of.

Overall we can say this: it’s a fantastic blend of punk, hard rock and good old heavy metal from when we still had dial up internet. And we can’t go anywhere without commending Nale from a writer’s point of view for their lyrics, especially from an artist whose first language is not English

Towards the latter half it picks up where it did in the beginning but harder, better and faster. You’d be forgiven for mistaking “The Black”’s opening riff for Machine Head’s “Imperium” with tiny pinches of “In Waves” by Trivium in between. And the bass heaviness on “Hell’s Wrath” just screams Five Finger Death Punch. Absolutely one of the best tracks on the album.

Death, Skulls & Satan is vibrant, it has attitude and it proves the artist is not a one trick pony in the slightest. It is refreshing to seen a band with so many sides in their arsenal. Nale have presented us with little bits of everything in their influences from the aforementioned Megadeth to The Misfits. This is absolutely an act which can appeal to a wider audience of heavy metal fans of different subgenres. They have avoided painting themselves into a little niche of a corner: a mistake many modern metal bands have made too often with ad nauseum in this post-hardcore snore fest that is inescapable these days. It has worn more than just a little thin over the last five years for many people. But Nale can do so much more than just chugging and whining. There is a well needed sleaziness audible here, and guitarist Tomas Åkvik’s work has an old school 1980’s edge which can be likened to the signature sounds of Slash and Marty Friedman. But it still remains fresh in its sound. The balance of the best old school rock and freshness is something that is not easy to replicate. And yet they have managed it surprisingly well.

If the band can manage to deliver this much in the studio, we can’t help but wonder how well they would come across live. We don’t know about you, but we can already feel the band shirts clinging to our skin after being drenched in beer and sweat. Definitely one to look out for. And to constantly annoy on Twitter with a barrage of tweets begging them to “come to the UK, pwetty pleeeeeease”. Now open this damn pit up, we’re coming in.

Nale: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube

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