Nail is the fourth album from J.G. Thirlwell's musical outlet Foetus, released in 1985 it is generally regarded as the signature album of the act. The man is known for pushing the boundaries of industrial music, completely disregarding any notion of genre his own unique brand of DIY insanity has won him a lot of respect in industrial crowds and despite their relative obscurity his 80's albums are some of the most influential of the era. Nail is an exemplary showcase of his talents, and an excellent introduction to Foetus for the uninitiated.
Theme From Pigdom Come is the opener, a tongue-in-cheek modern classical arrangement that manages to be convincing despite the banged-out-on-a-cheap-casio overtones associated with people who make classical music but aren't an orchestra. It's a harmonically rich and satisfying arrangement which sets a tone of wonder about the album, sections of it weaving into later songs managing to add a sense of uniform consistency. The Throne of Agony is where the album truly kicks in, J.G's throaty off-key vocals drawling over a backdrop of fuzzy distortion and slow paced drumming creating a Foetus anthem of sorts which features a big shift in tempo at the end. Whilst his delivery is rough and might be a killing factor for some, his lyrics are often touched with a rare kind of wit that dwells somewhere in between a comic misanthropy (which would later be much more pronounced on Thaw), clever surrealism and pure absurdity.
Pigswill is a good example of this, from the motif spelling the letters of the word Pigswill one by one ("P I G S W I L L") following it up with a rather odd declaration of war (Destroy... All... Girls!) the track is based around many, many layers of clunky, robotic percussion loops playing off one another with dynamic layers of distortion and noise weaving their way in and out, creating an entirely thrilling listen (especially though a good set of headphones). Descent Into The Inferno is comparable only to perhaps something ridiculous like say, mutant doo-wop swing music. It's more then a little Mr. Bungle (you could honestly imagine Mike Patton fronting this), get ready to click your thumbs to a slick vocal intro which builds up into a hellish concoction of pop harmonies, synths and drum machines that gradually builds in tempo with lyrics will get stuck in your head for days.
Enter The Exterminator is a much darker song in comparison to much of the album, with more of a focus of droning sounds, ambient grinding noises and a sinister, whispered vocal from J.G. It certainly sounds more akin to traditional industrial, with subtle layers of ticking clocks and metallic sounds colouring it. At first Di-1-9026 is a much more straight to the point rock track in structure, with some appealing lyrics and a fast speed however on closer listen it reveals itself to be full of some nice subtleties which work very well for its benefit. The Overture From Pigdom Come and Private War are two juxtaposed tracks, the first a rearrangement of earlier classical track Theme From Pigdom Come but with much cheesier extravagance and the latter an excursion into ugly, brutish noise. The end of Private War flows into the beginning of closing track Anything (Viva!), which begins life as a slow, droning affair and builds into crushing intensity. The lyrics here are quite prominent, using the Fe Fi Fo Fum line from Jack & The Beanstalk the only truly awkward moment on the album I can name but with lyrics such as "the blind lead the blind lead the blind lead the blind" working so well in the context of the song I can forgive it.
Nail is a very difficult album to pin down and categorise, it is very much an industrial album but because of it's unwillingness to fit neatly into any of the genres it borrows from i'm banking there is no industrial even remotely similar to some of the output Foetus has to offer. It is very much an album that is best listened to through headphones, the subtleties of production and dynamics of the arrangements completely jawdropping at times. Not every moment hits the mark but where it does it is a rollercoaster ride of intricate production, calculated arrangements and several bumps in jumpy dynamics that depending on who you are will either make you want to throw up or scream in excitement.
