DESTRUKTOR’s "Nailed" reminds me that not all of Black Metal is pure trash. I am picky to the point of snobbery at times regarding all forms of music, but extra critical of the Black Metal genre. The lack of screechy vocals and icy, wintery forests wasn’t the only aspect of this disc that appealed to me; DESKTRUKTOR summons the spirits of many varieties of metal to create something that surely won’t bore anyone to tears.

Each track, more or less, is very similar; this album might as well be one long extended song. The first song, "Embrace The Fire," commences with a typical grim, fuzzy guitar tone that permeates this entire creation. Although relatively simple and fuzzy Black Metal riffing serves as the backbone during all of the tracks, influences from Death Metal scorch with ferocity. The title track includes one of the few moments where the guitarist bursts through the low-end with a souring guitar solo. Rather than having individual cool-sounding riffs, "Nailed" utilizes rather simple guitar work to create an atmosphere of hellishness and chaos. My absolute favorite aspect of this album was the drumming. The drums sound so organic and "real" here; the raw, under-processed drum tone works well at break-neck Death Metal tempos. Likewise, they are fantastic on "Violence Unseen," where they slowly crush, rather than pummel. The vocalist employs a growing technique, interjecting some screeches here and there to add some flavor to the overall sound. Glenn Destruktor’s vokills aren’t 100% to my liking, but I have to give him credit for at least trying to have some range.

DESTRUKTOR sounds like modern Death Metal without being crazily over-produced. The listener will feel as if he were live in the studio as the cacophonous hellstorm lurches forth from his speakers. The final minute of this album is especially menacing. While I think that the infrequent appearances of ultra low bass or Blitzkrieg guitar spice this album up, I still think that there is not much about it that is memorable. Nevertheless, DESTRUKTOR certainly has not created a weak album; parts of it even bring to mind SATYRICON. This album comes with a strong, albeit not burning, recommendation.