Review by Sam on October 30, 2026.

Compared to Nails' debut, the first riff of Abandon All Life's opening salvo, 'In Exodus', is absurdly technical. What immediately jumps out is the undulating kick drum pattern, with its intricate stop-start rhythm and odd-meter feel beneath the grinding guitars. It seems to be in 5/4, although I can't say for certain, as it could just as easily be a natural meter that somehow creates the impression of an odd time signature, if that makes sense. It's all good, though, because twenty-two seconds in, this intricate passage gives way to raging torrents of powerviolence. I was a bit concerned at first, considering there's no double bass to be found on Unsilent Death and the songwriting formula employed on that album is damn near perfect. However, the technical elements introduced on 'In Exodus' show the band taking an evolutionary step in terms of dynamics, making them even more approachable to death metal guys like me.

I gotta tell you, if you're a death metal head whose rotation has started feeling stagnant amid all the shredding and dismemberment, or if you've had your fill of pretentious philosophers, give these guys a try. It doesn't get much more straightforward than this when it comes to sheer hatred. Nails hates me, you, and anyone and everyone who dares to even look in their direction. There's no noodling here, no meedly-mee, no clean breaks, and the mere suggestion of an acoustic guitar would likely get the person making it mercilessly beaten.

The seething rage of the second song, 'Tyrant', sums up what this band is all about in a forty-two-second nutshell. The drummer blasts away beneath that juicy, detuned HM-2 distortion while frontman Todd Jones detonates with the words "I want to make you suffer" and, for good measure, "Kill." They even throw in a little floor-tom d-beat to further enhance the savagery. The first four tracks of Abandon All Life keep the high-velocity misanthropy dialed up to eleven, but when we reach 'Wide Open Wound', Nails reveals another step in its musical growth. This riff will crush your fucking skull. For a hardcore band, Nails has a unique ability to make its audience feel utterly doomed. Their flirtations with doom were extremely brief, yet masterful, on Unsilent Death, but there are a couple of tracks on this second full-length where they demonstrate genuine doom metal craftsmanship, fleshing out some of their more moribund tendencies.

The best example of this is the album closer, 'Suum Cuique', which roughly translates to "get what you deserve." About a minute in, drummer Taylor Young launches into a brutal floor-tom sequence over double-bass 32nd notes, providing a crushing foundation for a low-string riff that, to my ears, would be right at home on Celtic Frost's "Monotheist". The oppressive atmosphere throughout this closing piece is reminiscent of the Swiss legends' swansong. The main riff is what I can only describe as a signature Nails heaving half-time riff, with sliding power chords drenched in that delicious low-end tone. When everything drops out except for that doom-laden guitar and Jones, in true Tom G. Warrior fashion, intones the menacing spoken words "To be the most. To be nothing," well, consider yourself oppressed.

Abandon All Life delivers a seventeen-and-a-half-minute beatdown for fans of anything from Black Flag to the aforementioned Swiss legends. The use of the HM-2 means that devotees of early Swedish death metal will have no choice but to love and embrace this powerviolence thing as well. I just wish it lasted longer. However, the compact, compressed hatred, rage, contempt, and motherfucking violence make this album an easy candidate for repeat listens. The total running time of Nails' four full-length albums is just over seventy minutes. If you want more, just start it over, because it doesn't get old.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10