Nailbomb - Point Blank (1994) RESTORED

Nailbomb was a brief project between ex-Sepultura singer/guitarist Max Cavalera and ex-Fudge Tunnel singer/guitarist Alex Newport. Although both of the bandmembers' full-time bands specialized in extreme metal sounds, Nailbomb somehow found a way to create even more dense and harsh metallic sounds… In addition to the duo, most of Cavalera's then-bandmates from Sepultura and Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares made special guest appearances on Nailbomb's debut recording for Roadrunner Records, 1994's Point Blank… a rough mixture of industrial thrash metal and hardcore punk.

Point Blank wears its pedigree on its sleeve. Nailbomb's first – and only – studio album combines the thrash-metal fury of Sepultura with the robotic industrial clangor of Fudge Tunnel in more or less equal proportions, though the end product boasts slightly more Fudge overall than Sepultura, which may be slightly surprising considering that nearly the entire Sepultura lineup is present on the guest list – both Andreas Kisser and Igor Cavalera are credited. Then again, there's also Dino Cazares of Fear Factory and Ritchie Bujnowski from Wicked Death, so the industrial and metal factions are pretty evenly balanced. The jacket sleeve picture – a female Viet Cong suspect with a U.S. soldier's gun to her head, and the credits that, among other things, direct a "f*** you" toward "fake hippies", "Lenny Kranivitz", and "Skinhead O'Connor", give some indication of what to expect and, truly, Point Blank doesn't disappoint in the energy department. There isn't much here by way of melody, but Nailbomb does have a mean punk streak, a full complement of relentless grinding riffs, and an industrial-strength percussive roar. The lyrics are uniformly nihilistic and the album is riddled with left-field samples that add a disorienting, dehumanizing texture – ranging from vocal snippets taken from Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer to the sounds of Max Cavalera beating up on his washing machine and Alex Newport slamming the brakes on a broken-down old car he drove at the time the album was being made. Nailbomb's aesthetic may be lo-fi (everything except the guitars and drums was recorded in Cavalera's house), but there's no quarter given when it comes to the ass-kicking that is full-on malevolent from the get-go. Point Blank is abrasive, in your face, and loud as hell with the lid off. Too bad Nailbomb didn't live long enough to follow it up.

~ Leslie Mathew, all media guide

Tracklist:

01. Wasting Away
02. Vai Toma No Cú
03. 24 Hour Bullshit
04. Guerillas
05. Blind And Lost
06. Sum Of Your Achievements
07. Cockroaches
08. For Fuck's Sake
09. World Of Shit
10. Exploitation
11. Religious Cancer
12. Shit Piñata
13. Sick Life

all songs written by Cavalera/Newport except "10" by Doom (Talbot/Nash/Pickering/Dickens)


Produced & Mixed by Alex Newport. Co-Produced by Max Cavalera. Engineered by Otto D'Agnolo.
Recorded at Chaton Studios, Scottsdale, Arizona and Theresa's Catholic Bedroom, Phoenix, Arizona.

• Max Cavalera - vocals, guitars, bass, samples
• Alex Newport - vocals, guitars, bass, samples

additional musicains:
* Andreas Kisser - lead guitar on tracks 2, 9, 11
* Igor Cavalera - drums on tracks 1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13
* Dino Cazares - guitar on track 3
* Ritchie Bujnowski - extra guitar noise

Release Date: March 8, 1994
Format: Original Recording
Label: Roadrunner Records
Catalog No.: RR 9055-2