ALBUM REVIEW: Menace – Nasty

Belgian beatdown mob NASTY are back once again to deliver another round of limb flailing brutality. Since 2006 the band have built up quite a reputation in hardcore circles for their no nonsense approach, delivering some of the most aggressive and outright violent hardcore around. So how does their latest album Menace compare to what’s come before?

Well from the opening track Ultimate it becomes clear NASTY haven’t decided to deviate from their tried and tested formula. From the very start this is ignorant mosh music, no nuance or subtlety here. Pummelling beatdowns bombard the listener and just seem to get heavier as the song goes on. Bulletrain picks up the pace for a much shorter and condensed burst of aggression before the title train comes in for a slower, lurching beatdown heavy track.

There is something undeniably satisfying about what NASTY do. It’s just so crushingly heavy on such a primal level, if you have even a passing interest in this sort of music you’ll no doubt find yourself getting caught up in a few moments. Matthias Tarnath brings some charisma to the songs, his vocal performance is just overflowing with confidence and swagger. As always he is a believably imposing presence on every song.

The problem with Menace is that it just ends up being a little one note and shallow. There are some occasional deviations such as the clean vocals on Be Careful. They might change the pace up or throw in a guitar solo every now and then. But apart from this there is very little to differentiate each track. There’s certainly nothing wrong with beatdowns but hardcore has really been pushed into exciting new terrain over the last few years. And even when compared to other beatdown heavy bands, NASTY just don’t seem to do enough to keep up here.

There’s no doubt that these songs will gain something in the live environment. These are songs written for people to mosh as hard as possible to. And if that’s what NASTY aimed to do then this album succeeds at that. There are still plenty of bright spots spread through the album. As unoriginal as the sample choices are, it’s not to get a kick out of an air raid siren or ring bell going off before a beatdown.

Menace just ends up being more of the same from NASTY. Depending on who you ask that will either be a good or bad thing. Fans will absolutely eat up the brutality on display here. And when the band are eventually able to tour these songs will no doubt go down well live. Perhaps this is just a band knowing what their audience wants and delivering exactly that. But unless you live and breathe beatdowns, there is nothing here that will make a lasting impression.

Rating: 6/10

Menace is set for release on September 25th via Century Media Records.

Like NASTY on Facebook.