Article and Photos by: Steven Principato

Brooklyn, New York – Like a chainsaw straight through the middle of a long workweek, Nails, along with Toxic Holocaust and Gatecreeper conveniently assisted in the collective purging out the pen- up aggression for a few hundred bruise hungry headbangers through the magic of mosh-inducing music, unleashed under a brain-melting level of sound, at he place of one skull-splitting track at a time.

Opening act Gatecreeper, hailing from Arizona, brought on a world of sonic hurt as they assaulted the house with their own method of desert death metal, Proving themselves undoubtedly worthy of a place in the sacred pantheon of the original Tampa Scene of which they are so inspired. Refusing to let the crowd recover from the previous slug-fest, Portland’s own thrash inspired Toxic Holocaust, a name straight out of the big-sneakered street thrash days of the 80’s, kindly reminded us why we we’re all here in the first place. With an unmistakable sound that took us back to the early days of Venom, Hellhammer, and Motorhead, Toxic Holocaust appeared quite pleased with the level of crowd participation and appreciation for their brand of music that’s directly inspired by the sound that unleashed metal upon us mortals so many decades ago. 

Headlining the show was Nails. Hitting the stage,  armed with all of their notoriety as purveyors in one of the heaviest, most mosh igniting examples of sonic terror on the scene today, Nails hammered down any doubts of that not being an accurate fact rather quickly. Blasting the most gut-wrenching auditory annihilation ever unleashed upon the circling maelstrom below; a storm generated by the frustrations and anxiety brought upon by life in general, Nails generously provided the soundtrack of therapeutic remedy that converted the woes of reality into Blood, Sweat, bruises, sunshine, and smiles.

When the smoke finally cleared, the satisfied legion of bloodied part-time headbangers spilled upon the streets, temporarily (or permanently) deafened by the sound and steaming as they came in contact with the frigid air. As the result of this mass therapeutic aggression purge, brought to you by Nails and friends, they would all most definitely feel a little better when they awaken to face the daily grind tomorrow…as long as they can get over their well-earned injuries and ringing ears.