Outside of a few obvious exceptions, it seems pretty rare to
find a female-fronted thrash band, and even rarer to find a thrash group
composed of all females. Nervosa, a new band out of Brazil, fits both
categories, and much more importantly, they deliver some intense thrash metal. “Victim
of Yourself” is their debut record, and it is an exercise in extreme thrash. Everything
from the vocals to the crunchy guitars, to the pounding, military-esque rhythms
present in the some of the songs (“Twisted Values”) creates a brutal experience.
Over the course of the entire record, there is pretty much no letting up once
the thrash starts. With that said, there is some variety to Nervosa’s sound: it
isn’t simply playing as fast as possible. There is definitely a lot of
influence from Sepultura as Nervosa manages to use a lot of uniquely timed
riffs. They make good use of rests in the music alongside more typical thrash
riffs. Another way the band stands out is in its use of blast beats. A good
comparison would be Warbringer: both bands use blast beats, but it doesn’t
become a focus of the music like it does in death or black metal. In fact,
Nervosa uses it in a bit of a mechanical way, to increase the heaviness of the
music rather than the speed.
As one might expect, Nervosa’s Brazilian heritage means that
their singer has quite a bit of snarl in her voice. Fans of other German or
Brazilian thrash bands will know what to expect, and will definitely appreciate
the brutality that bassist/vocalist Fernanda Lira delivers. Her rasps are a
good match for the music, which is raw and unfiltered. “Victim of Yourself”
delivers riff after riff to the point where it is almost overkill. The
songwriting tends to follow this lead. There are standout tracks on “Victim of
Yourself”, and none of the other songs will be disappointing, but there’s so
much material on this record that the band could benefit from more simplistic
song structures. This is best displayed on the very catchy “Morbid Courage”,
which is the highlight because of its infectious chorus. Overall, however, you’ll
never find a dull moment on this album, and if you dig any kind of more extreme
thrash, “Victim of Yourself” will deliver what you’re looking for.
Highlights
"Twisted Values"
"Morbid Courage"
"Death"
Final Rating
3.6/5 or 72%.