With only founding guitarist Prika Amaral remaining from their original 2010 line-up, Brazilian thrashers Nervosa return with a much more international look on their fourth full-length studio release, Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records). Joining Amaral this time is Spanish vocalist Diva Satanica, Greek drummer Eleni Nota, and former Abbath bassist Mia Wallace.
The personnel situation might have changed substantially since their 2014 debut but their particular brand of corrosive thrash metal certainly hasn’t. Opening cut ‘Venomous’ couldn’t be any more aptly named as it lunges straight for the throat, quickly followed by the equally aggressive ‘Guided By Evil’ and the chaotic explosion of ‘People of the Abyss’.
The monstrous title track churns and blasts with a concussive groove, while ‘Until The Very End’ and ‘Genocidal Command’ feature some classic sounding Slayer riffs, the latter featuring legendary Destruction frontman Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer on vocals, opening the song with a familiar-sounding Tom Araya style scream. ‘Kings of Domination’ follows, full of menace and groove while ‘Time To Fight’ brims with a spiky Toxic Holocaust punk attitude.
‘Godless Prisoner’ is throwaway violent fun but is dominated entirely by the slow-burning brutality of ‘Blood Eagle’. ‘Rebel Soul’ finds Satanica sharing vocals again, this time with Eric A.K. from Arizona thrashers Flotsam and Jetsam before the supercharged ‘Pursued By Judgement’ and the brooding crunch of ‘Under Ruins’ close the record with molten fury.
A polished yet still viciously raw slab of bruising thrash metal, Perpetual Chaos is an unrelentingly aggressive but never boring stride forwards.
7/10
GARY ALCOCK