NERVOSA - JAILBREAK (2023) (ENGLISH VERSION)

NERVOSA
JAILBREAK
Napalm Records/ Shinigami Records

How many times will Prika Amaral have to reappear to shut up the envious? For some, the Brazilian is the skirt version of Dave Mustaine. Would it be a demerit to be compared to a spectacular musician? I see it all as a great compliment, and from the first listen to "Jailbreak", you can compare Mustaine, and so many others - The "powergirl" has left the band stronger than ever.

What else does a thrasher love about their favorite style? The answer is obvious - Riff! Prika and her new partner in crime, guitarist Helena Kotina, didn't mess around and came up with a waterfall of them. Nervosa's fifth studio album is their best yet. Creativity at an all-time high, sharp and philosophical lyrics, a band that has almost completely reinvented itself, bringing aggressive work, but without getting lost in the formulas of their discography.

The fantastic quartet also includes the talented Hel Pyre (Bass) and Michaela Naydenova (Drums), both of whom have a strong, in-your-face tone. Michaela's precise hammering and Hel's groovy, punchy notes form an indestructible mass of sound, bringing more brutality to Nervosa.

Opening with the missile "Endless Ambition", the girls come in kicking down the door, in your face and making sensitive ears bleed. If you can't hold on the pressure, don't go ahead, because "Suffocare" keeps hell on earth and your neck swaying. The track is about toxic people, where oppressors never show a real face, Prika screams:

"How far can it go?

How close can it be?

Soothing words

to feel at home

Protection, Oppression, Disguised"

The restlessness is inevitable, the timbre of the guitars are like a deadly attack of killer bees. "Ungrateful" and "Seed and Death" were born to wreak havoc on the moshpit - violent as elephant attacks, possibly leaving no stone unturned at gigs in just over 7:30 minutes, both were conceived as classics.

At times, I saw the simplicity of Motörhead's dirty Rock N Roll, with the "romantic" way of Exodus and Kreator and an influence here and there from Arch Enemy (Angela Gossow period), even the title track, fits very well with what is described above - Lemmy Kilmister leaves his Jack & Coke aside to applaud the girls. "Sacrifice" and "Behind The Wall" are broken, prog thrash metal, fast, "modern", pulsating and with solos with several notes per second (laughs). In fact, it's worth highlighting Helena's moments, the girl proves to be a full-fledged guitar-hero, the solos are the kind that the son cries and the mother doesn't see, simply nostalgia watered down by the spirit of Jeff Hannemann (Slayer) - a perfect feeling aligning melody very well when necessary and "frying" full of effects showing that she works for the music and not for her own ego.

The announcement of Fernanda Lira's departure took everyone by surprise. The same happened with Diva Satânica, when everyone was typing: "Oh and now?" Prika made a triumphant move by taking over the band's "lead" forever, Nervosa's identity would be maintained, the leader's voice would no longer be behind the stage curtains, and you know what? She did great! A huge weight with versatile gutturals.

The free and adventurous spirit appears in "Kill or Die", simple and precise, with a chorus to sing with your fists raised, more than obligatory in the tour setlist, classic! Yes, I said it again.

"On the highway of life

A promise you make

Choices you take

To be who you are

Not living to die

Living to kill

Be who you are"

Special guest appearances add to the album, and none other than Gary Holt appears on "When The True Is A Lie". The song is a frenetic attack, showing that the aggressiveness of the record was a 100% choice, showing that the thought was to have no pity, the fan will leave bewildered and that's that. In "Superstition Failed", the band flirts between more current death metal, with German thrash metal and adding denser and more charged passages, leaving the perfect atmosphere for Lena Scissorhands (Infected Rain) and Prika to work in a unique way.

The final set - "Gates To The Hell", "Elements of Sin" and "Nail The Coffin" - closes the work in the way it began - destruction with no speed limit.

"Jailbreak" is the band's apex. It's a work made by fans for fans. The moshpit is the only law in the life of Prika Amaral and Nervosa.

Willian Ribas