Band:	Old
Album:	Down With The Nails
Style:	Blackened thrash metal
Release date:	2006

01. Black Jewel Throne
02. Blood Skull
03. Lust In Red
04. Under The Sign Of Death
05. Empire In Flames
06. A Knife
07. Triumph Of Hell
08. Scream For Hell
09. Down With The Nails

It makes a refreshing change to hear a fairly new band which plays old-school, 80's style Black Thrash and actually sounds authentic and committed. Old, from Germany, wear their influences on their sleeves, but this doesn't come across as contrived. Instead, I get the impression that this is a band with a genuine passion and dedication to their craft.

Recorded in merely 3 days, Down With The Nails is structurally and rhythmically reminiscent of early Celtic Frost, combined with the sinister sound of Bathory's self-titled debut. It's also likely that certain Black Metal bands of the early 1990's have had an impact on the songwriting here. The vocals are mainly an echoed black rasp, but a Tom G. Warrior style 'ugh!' and 'ooh!' is sometimes also thrown in for good measure, punctuating the start of a change in tempo and such like. There is a Hellish energy to this music, but the speed and delivery is always under control - no modern blastbeats here, rather everything is kept to a 'fast Motorhead' kind of pace.

The production and mix is very suitable, with all instruments (including the bass) clearly audible, but coated in a scorching, grimey texture which lends the songs an extra bite. An album of this nature is obviously not going to offer anything really original to the listener - but every single one of these songs is so caustically catchy, particularly after allowing the album a few listens to truly sink in, that I suspect Down With The Nails will stand the test of time as a damn good album in its own right, despite its self-imposed limitations. Great stuff!