ALBUM REVIEW: Slave Machine – Nervosa
Brazilian death and thrash powerhouse NERVOSA have been battering ear drums with their frenetic riffs and socially critical themes for over fifteen years now. Arriving now at album number six, Slave Machine is the second release since founding member Prika Amaral has taken up lead vocal duties. With two departing vocalists in quick succession, Prika’s first run at lead vocals on 2023’s Jailbreak was a stunning success. What could have easily been a half hearted attempt at desperately trying to keep the band together, Jailbreak cemented NERVOSA as one of the most resilient metal bands of the last few years. Now with full confidence in the new band formation NERVOSA have nothing left to prove and deliver another serving of epic heavy metal with Slave Machine.
Slave Machine picks up where Jailbreak left off. Through all the crushing riffs that will make any fan of thrash or death metal happy, moments of grandiose scope lift this album higher than anything the band have done before. Right from the off opening track Impending Doom we get a tone setting tribalistic drone, not unlike NERVOSA’s cultural peers SEPULTURA, before blasting off into the band’s trademark style of death metal meets thrash.
While giving the listener everything they could want from typical NERVOSA the band have pushed their scope much further on Slave Machine. Where Jailbreak had moments which were grander in scale, the opening of Seed of Death being a good example, here on Slave Machine there is much more of an emphasis on impactful choruses. Impending Doom sets up this approach however it comes in full force on the title track with big open chords, layered vocals both harsh and clean belting out the song’s empowering lyrics. Similarly, the chorus of 30 Seconds ends with Prika’s clean vocals crying out in what sounds like a performance filled with genuine passion and emotion.
If the notion of a more melodic album is off putting to any thrash or death metal purists rest assured Slave Machine still brings plenty of face melting metal that old fans will be longing for. Beast of Burden is a straightforward yet effective three and half minute thrash metal battering and You Are Not A Hero is the album at its most aggressive with more stompy death metal rhythms and cutting lyrics. In similar fashion the straightforwardly titled Hate is filled with TESTAMENT sounding riffs to show off NERVOSA’s riff writing mastery.
It can be difficult to innovate within the extreme remits of heavy metal. The straightforward components of death and thrash often leave little room for nuance. Yet while NERVOSA aren’t necessarily pushing extreme metal to new places on Slave Machine one thing is apparent and that is they have pushed themselves to another level. Jailbreak was a more than solid rebirth of the band however on Slave Machine the sense of trepidation has well and truly vanished. By adding more scope to their sound without compromising the band’s intensity NERVOSA have surpassed their previous album. Through all the logistical changes the band have been through over the years the current set up is the band at their most confident and they want you to know that by the end of Slave Machine.
Rating: 8/10
Slave Machine is set for release on April 3rd via Napalm Records.
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