Nailgun-New World Chaos

STF
2013

This was released back in October of 2012 which makes it just "new" enough to squeak by for review here at Heavy Metal Time Machine. I usually try to cover albums reviewed in the last couple of months or ones that are due out in a month or less. Since I've twisted that rule on more then one occasion I figured why not with this one? Chances are anyway that you're probably not all that familiar with the name. I know I wasn't. I kept thinking of the band Nailbomb when I was writing this. It's not because this sounds anything like that industrial metal act, but because of the name being so close. Then again all the various bands that have been called just Nail (or Nails) springs to mind so the name kind of throws me. Moving past that though this band was formed in 2008 and features six members. No, it's not what you think (or might expect) as there are two vocalists to be found within Nailgun. Those two would be Manuel Bühler (lead vocals) and Manuel Blesch (backing vocals). Or at least how the Metal Archives has them listed. Speaking of which, as far as lead vocals go, I will say that there is a very distinct James Hetfield vibe you get when the vocals kick in. That's not good or bad, but rather just an observation. The vocals fit the music that fluctuates between dark melodic moments and meaty metal breakdowns. Let's get back to the band though. Hailing from Walldürn, Baden-Württemberg (Germany) the band's first release was "Paindustry" (April of 2011) with "New World Chaos" being the band's sophomore outing. The material that came along with this promised music that was "Straight and aggressive, complex and catchy, incl. even balladic (sic) moments and groovy passages!" and also "Dark Heavy Metal, strongly recommended to followers of Nevermore, Communic or Evergrey!". I'll admit I've thrown that term "Dark Heavy Metal" around myself so in case you're wondering Nailgun are more or less just heavy metal/thrash metal with pretty good song structures/choruses. They're also a band with a bit of a bleak outlook. Think along the lines (tone wise/over-all feeling you get when listening to them) of bands like Danzig, Type O Negative or even N.I.N and you should be able to see where I'm coming from. The dread and despair that those bands create with their music is layered on top of some (again) quality heavy/thrash. One band that comes to mind, as already mentioned, is Metallica ("Black" album through "Re-Load"), which is certainly understandable considering how far-reaching Metallica's music was during that period. It's the Hetfield vocals yes, but it's also Nailgun's (occasional) "Black Era" guitar leads which seem to pop up in more and more new bands lately. As I look back over my notes again I see that I also wrote down some other acts that Nailgun draw influences from. Iron Maiden, Danzig, Primal Fear and Nevermore all came to mind so there is a lot of interesting influences to be found within album number two for this German band. So, looking back at the promo material and that Nevermore comment seems somewhat fitting. I could get everyone really confused and mention that other bands came to to mind as well. Vicious Rumors (melodies and choruses), the Scorpions (if only again because of the bands solid guitar work) and even bands as diverse as Metal Church and Alice In Chains all crossed my mind! The bottom line seems to be this that Nailgun, being a young band, obviously pulled from a wide variety of different bands and different genres to help shape their sound. Again, there is nothing wrong with that as long as the end result is a band trying to forge their own identity and it really seems as if this 6-piece band is etching out theirs. With Nailgun it is all about being dark & moody, and somewhat mysterious/eerie, while also laying down heavy metal that borders on both power metal and thrash metal.