Nervosa – Jailbreak
Review By: George Andritsakis
Review Score: 9.5
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Hot on the heels of the announcement from the Nervosa camp that a new single is coming out on June 20th this year (in honor of Nervosa’s 15 years as a band), I decided to do another rewind review, this time into their last album, the album which got me completely, utterly, insanely hooked into Nervosa.
Before this current lineup, I knew of Nervosa, but never really heard any of the music. I knew they were an up-and-coming Brazilian Thrash band that’s getting more and more massive with each release and each tour, despite the seemingly never-ending revolving door of members. Now mind you, Nervosa is the brainchild of guitarist and now frontwoman Prika Amaral, so it’s her vision, her drive, her rules. She’s the Brazilian Steve Harris or Brian May, if you will (and just as insanely talented as those two fine fellows of yore).
My introduction to Nervosa came about when Greek guitar goddess Helena Kotina filled in for then bassist Mia Wallace in 2022, and then moved up to the second guitarist slot in 2023, although she was in the band behind the scenes since just after the release of the previous album Perpetual Chaos in 2021. I had been a fan of Helena Kotina for several years now, starting with her work in Daffodil, her online presence with the guitar clinics, playthroughs, lessons, and her own solo work. So when it was announced she was joining Nervosa, and a new album was coming out, I was giddy. Add the news that Mia Wallace was being replaced by the immortal Hel Pyre, well, out of sheer respect and admiration did Nervosa shoot up into my top 5 bands of this era.
I was in Greece when the first two singles off of the new album dropped. “Endless Ambition”, and “Seed of Death” came out while I was in the village in the mountains above Trikala. I’m pretty sure I drove my family insane blasting the new tracks on repeat to no end. Endless Ambition really got me excited about the new album, and the new layout of the band, Prika’s vocals and growls on this track, coupled in with Michaela Naydenova’s thunderous drumming and the now twin guitar attack of both Prika and Helena sonically assaulting my ears like a thrashed up Judas Priest, and the steady, undertow of bass from Hel Pyre adding to the rhythm, it’s no wonder Endless Ambition has ended up in playlist after playlist of mine, and is something I frequently blast while I’m driving.
Seed of Death got me by the opening. It’s mellow, foreboding, building up to a crescendo well before Prika utters a single word. Listen to the break in middle of the song heading to the solo, it immediately hooks you and keeps you banging your head, like any classic Scorpions gem cranked up to 11, dipped into the deepest levels of hell, and brought back out and polished up with Thrash technicality.
Jailbreak, the title track, came out as the third single, dropping into the public at large’s ears on August 30, 2023, with a video that was filmed in and around Trikala, Greece and especially inside one of my favorite bars in the city, the Cardinal. I remember a few months before Nervosa announced they were looking for extras for an upcoming video and had to be in Trikala for a day in May 2023. Right in BETWEEN two of my trips back home that year. Bangs head on desk, Curse my wretched timing.
Anyways, moving on, Jailbreak itself. Out of all the tracks on the album, this one comes off more like a tried and true hard rock banger, designed to get the crowds roaring and the pits going, and let me tell you, having witnessed this live in person, when the ladies get this cranking, the crowd goes INSANE. At the show in Salt Lake City last year, which was the fastest, heaviest, and most intense pit I have ever seen opened up in that particular venue. Holy moses, Prika definitely knows how to get the crowd going.
Suffocare is another fast-paced brutal track with lyrics that hit insanely close to home for me. Same with Ungrateful, which holds another special place in my metal heart. “The fingers that accuse, the words that condemn, you drained me more and more, nothing is enough, self-seeker, I endured the stabs in my back, and with the truth, I go ahead” Sounds like most of my young adult life and first marriage, when I stop to think about it.
Sacrifice is also held very close to me, Prika’s lyrics give one a sense of hope, that anything can be achieved, no matter how hard, how high the cost, as long as one doesn’t give up.
The other notable tracks on here that definitely deserve mention are Kill or Die, where I definitely hear the Sepultura and Soulfly influences. The intensely groovy When The Truth Is A Lie, featuring none other than Gary Holt of Exodus and Slayer fame, Superstition Failed which features one of my favorite frontwomen of all, Lena Scissorhands of Infected Rain. This killer track also has in my opinion, the best guitar solo out of the whole album, one that I will eventually try to tackle on my trusty Jackson Kellys and Warriors. One of these days. Nail The Coffin is another intense banger that has made its way into my favorite songs list, something that just sounds soooo good when it’s blared out of the windows of my Jaguar heading down the freeway at 100 mph.
As I said above, this review is a retro look back at Nervosa’s latest effort before the announcement of the next album (featuring new drummer Gabriela Abud), and also before the release of a new song coming out in the next few days, celebrating the band’s 15 years of existence. holds up a shot of Ouzo in one hand and a Caipirinha in the other Here’s to at the very least another 15 years more!
Genre: Death, Thrash Metal
Label: Napalm Records
Release Date: September 29, 2023.
Playlist:
1. Endless Ambition
2. Suffocare
3. Ungrateful
4. Seed Of Death
5. Jailbreak
6. Sacrifice
7. Behind The Wall
8. Kill Or Die
9. When The Truth Is A Lie (feat. Gary Holt)
10. Superstition Failed (feat. Lena Scissorhands)
11. Gates To The Fall
12. Elements Of Sin
13. Nail The Coffin
Lineup:
Vocals & Guitar: Prika Amaral
Guitar: Helena Kotina
Bass: Hel Pyre
Drums: Michaela Naydenova