Nervosa: The War On Perpetual Chaos
Chaotic, ferocious and brutally honest. The three things that have been the key fundamentals in the NERVOSA sound that has led them to their successes. Since their formation, they have delivered nothing but unrelenting power, both in sound and in persona. Now with an almost brand new line-up and album, Perpetual Chaos, we speak to founding guitarist Prika Amaral on the dynamics of a new line-up, the political and societal issues that are heavily concepted in the new material and plenty more.
Speaking on the new line-up which features Diva Satanica [vocals], Mia Wallace [bass] and Eleni Nota [drums], Prika Amaral says, “it was very natural stuff that happened in NERVOSA. All of these girls I already followed before, I admired a lot of things, I admired their jobs, it wasn’t easy to do a list of girls because now with the internet it’s very easy to find many very good musicians. So, my list was huge! It was hard to choose because there were a lot of very good girls but we did a lot of video calls, we talked a lot, sometimes what you want is not the thing that the other wants but it’s very important to talk. For the pandemic situation, we had a lot of time to talk so it wasn’t a problem.”
As Amaral speaks, it’s evident that for her, having a female strong line-up is important. As time has progressed, the misogyny towards female identifying musicians, especially in heavy metal, has failed to disappear. Not too long ago, a publication labelled an article on female musicians based on their genitals. Why it’s such an issue to get past that a woman can play a more devastating riff than a man is beyond any decent person’s comprehension, but in recent years we are seeing a much stronger female presence in the metal industry. For Amaral, her choice is about continuing that empowerment and changing the dynamic in how women are treated in metal.
“In the beginning it was something a little bit big. We had a movement here in Brazil against NERVOSA because we were women. They were thinking we were playing because we are using our image for ‘that’ or fucking with other guys, that sort of bullshit. With time, when we did our first tour in Europe, all the bands that everyone enjoys like KREATOR, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DESTRUCTION, all these bands were taking photos with us, they were talking about us, they were respecting us. Then these people that were a minority were changing their behaviour, they saw their idols were respecting us and supporting us. This [their behaviour] was not correct and then they start to change their behaviour. We still have some of these but it’s very small. I think the most important thing is if you don’t give attention to these guys. It’s very important that you talk about it, bring the topic to have a talk but don’t say the names. I think it’s important for the girls to be united and support each other, to give attention and to give a voice.”
Breaking down the walls about gender in the music industry is only one of the very few important societal issues that NERVOSA takes a stand with. Perpetual Chaos targets the very centre of society as we know it to be. Lyrically, the album looks at political grievance and amplifying the voices of minorities to protesting the ever-growing topic on factory farming, capitalism and the ill-informed musings of social elites. On the subject of the lyrical content, Amaral says, “it’s very important to bring the topics, sometimes in some lyrics we don’t give a very clarified idea, it’s always better when we want to change some bad ideas. We have to make the people think about it instead of saying ‘you are wrong’ because sometimes I’m wrong. It’s important we have a discussion, a healthy discussion.”
One thing that is pretty clarified though is the feelings that fuel the writing about political issues, especially in Amaral’s home country, Brazil. Brazil is known for its corruption and violence, from the tragic Candelária child massacre in 1993 to the tens of thousands who sleep rough, often in sewers for warmth, this is one important discussion Amaral wants to have with others.
“We have a very different life in Brazil, we live in a very corrupt country. We have so many people living on the streets with no food, and violence, it is so very violent, it’s one of the countries that I feel most unsafe in. The guns here are everywhere. This is coming natural for me because it’s necessary to talk about it, it’s really necessary that things change here, it’s getting worse and worse. There’s no end for this. I really feel it’s necessary to talk about it and give this view for other countries because they have no idea because they haven’t lived it. It’s very important for me and to talk about it in other countries, maybe we can get some help.”
Perpetual Chaos lives up to its name. The lyrical content focuses on heavy subject matters that are indeed causing chaos in our world. What Amaral has pointed out is that there is more than we see with our own eyes. Just because we don’t see it happening in our country, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening somewhere else. When NERVOSA started out, we recognised them as an insanely good thrash band. Now they are a band that carries more substance than they are given credit for, they break down the barriers with respect and intellectuality instead of blind aggression. If this album is going to teach us anything, it’s that there’s a lot of fights to be fought and these four women aren’t in a position to lose.
Perpetual Chaos is out now via Napalm Records.
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