It’s Wednesday! Do you know what that means? Well, it means next to nothing other than it’s Wednesday and I’m ready for some new music so let’s check out ‘Nerves’ from Low Life! I know this isn’t a brand new release as it came out back in 2018 but it’s new to me which means it’s bound to be new to some of you too!
Low Life waste no time and jumps right into their brutal and intense sound with the opening track, “Sick”. A flurry of guitars mixed with powerful and slamming drums kick this little intro song off. Although a hair under a minute long and definitely more of an introduction than anything, this opening really sets the stage for what’s to come and my heart fluttered with joy as the title track took over my house. “Nerves” is intense. It’s brutal. It’s full of passion, energy, aggression, and everything I needed to get through my Wednesday afternoon hump. With tastes of hardcore and metalcore influence flowing simultaneously through the track, I found my ears struggling to really focus in on one part of this track as I so badly wanted to catch everything going on.
“Manic” continues with the power laid out on the first two tracks but brings an almost djent vibe to some of the guitar playing which makes it feel completely different than the previous songs to a trained ear. To the untrained ear, I could get this track feeling just like the previous ones but that’s not a bad thing. Low Life has such a distinct brand of sound and power that I truly will not mind if the remaining four tracks all sound the same.
“Play Dead” is just as heavy of a song as the previous tracks but I feel like I got some more clarity and was able to pick out a particular line of notes and words in this track which made it an instant favorite of mine. The beat is slowed down ever so slightly as if giving you a chance to breathe throughout the song. I really love the background sounds happening. I don’t know if it’s a synth in there or a sample, or what but there’s something that almost sounds like strings happening behind the brutality of this track that just enhances everything else in such a flawless way. Talk about epic, this is a song that I will absolutely be going back to time and time again.
Something about the drums during “Point Blank” really stood out to me. The tone just felt a bit brighter or something making them stand out to me throughout this fifth song on the release and it really gave the drummer their moment to shine. It’s obvious that the drums are an important element of this band and they are clearly noticeable throughout the entire album but something about them on “Point Blank” really just give them a chance to be fully appreciated. Just like “Point Blank” pointed the spotlight on the drums, I feel like “Out Could” really gave the vocals a chance to shine. Again, I know they are solid and powerful throughout this album but they just stood out a bit more to me on “Out Cold”. Call it just screaming and shouting if you want (shout out to my mom and dad) but I can hear the talent it takes to pull off this kind of sound in this song and appreciated it so much.
Although “Better Off” is the final track on this release, Low Life doesn’t hold back and continues to power through until the very end. Another super solid track full of this band’s signature blend of sounds and styles, “Better Off” is the perfect way to end this album because it leaves you wanting so much more. The way the power, brutality, and aggression stretch through this entire album and never lets up is quite the feat and I can not wait to dig into some more of Low Life’s material!
My Favorite Track(s): “Play Dead”
For Fans Of: Power; Aggression; Hardcore; Metalcore
Mosh-ability: 11 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: Artie slept on the couch; Autumn slept upstairs as far away from a speaker as she could get
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 9 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 8.8 out of 10
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