In June this year, we introduced the psychological horror hardcore band Nailed Shut MA and their hair-raising single ‘BURGEON’, which set the stage for their unique, confrontational style. Now, as we approach the year’s end, the band presents their heavy-hitting EP ‘LUST IN THE END‘, a project that delves even deeper into the raw, emotive core of their music.
This EP, a culmination of over a year of collaborative work, marks a significant evolution for Nailed Shut MA. It’s a manifestation of the band’s combined influences and styles, bringing together elements of deathcore, mathcore, modern hardcore, and even emo into a singular, explosive experience.
Each member brings a distinct flavor to the project, from Jake Thompson’s deathcore-infused drumming to Owen Chepow’s mathcore-inspired bass riffs, Joel Arnall’s hardcore and emo guitar work, Mason Roth’s deathcore guitar and vocals, and Asher Thomas’s intense, high-pitched screams.
“All and all we could not be more excited to have our new EP ‘LUST IN THE END’ out digitally everywhere, and soon in a physical form as we plan to make and sell both Cassettes and CD’s via our band camp and at all live shows. So much love to Charlie Burket, our producer, mixing engineer and mastering engineer for making this project come to life with his amazing skills. We can’t thank him enough for his tireless work on this. Anyways, enjoy this short track by track commentary as we go through the record from front to back.ย ” – comments the band.
The EP opens with ‘LUST IN THE END’, setting a chilling tone for the entire record. Inspired by intros from bands like Suicide Silence, Norma Jean and Slipknot, the track serves as a dire warning about mental health, setting the stage for the introspective and confessional nature of the entire album.
Each track on ‘LUST IN THE END’ is a confession, an outpouring of raw emotion and personal struggle.
As Nailed Shut MA prepares to embark on a larger tour in 2024, with exciting announcements slated for July, ‘LUST IN THE END’ stands as a testament to their artistic growth and their ability to craft music that not only confronts but also captivates. It’s an exploration of the darkest corners of the human psyche, told through a blend of aggressive music and poignant, thought-provoking lyrics.
Dive into each track with the band’s special track by track commentary below.
‘LUST IN THE END’:
Every good story based project needs a heart stopping and bone chilling opening. We were really inspired by the ‘Revelations’ intro from Suicide Silences ‘The Cleansing’ record, as well as Sliknots ‘(515)’ intro off of ‘Iowa’.
There isn’t much I want to reveal here about what this spoken word intro is or where it comes from. All and all these words spoken from our female introduction is a warning about one’s mental health.
I was initially going to call the record ‘CONFESSIONS’ as the more I go track by track down this project, you’ll understand that’s really what this record is about, and this spoken intro is no different.
The words confessed is that of someone really grappling with their mental health struggles and getting lost in themselves, confessing their truth.
‘CEREBELLUM’
Ok, so first real song on the record, this track is essentially all about being seconds from feeling like you’re going to absolutely snap and lose your shit. To put it lightly. It is a confession about one’s ability to control themselves.
I am an incredibly calm person when not on stage, I always have been, but I really wanted this track to be sort of an angry anthem as an understanding about where we put our aggression. For me it’s into each and every performance.
Having 25 minutes of pure scream based therapy is so healing. Sometimes when we’re angry it can find itself in pain, and I think this track is a great example of pain in anger, and the way we control that pain.
My favorite lyric from this track is “Bury the hatchet. Cut open my head. Bury the hatchet. I’m pulling it together again”. This is sort of a double entendre, but it really describes one’s feelings centered around anger with themselves and with others, to simply be able to pull it together in an instant.
‘MACABRE’
Macabre is all about anxiety and the confession of being able to admit to yourself that you are unwell, and in need of outside help. A lot of our lyrics are about mental health and understanding that it’s ok to admit that it isn’t always as easy as it’s “supposed to be”.
A lot of this song has to do with nightmares and turning those nightmares into physical anxieties, almost monster-like. This track is all about the night sweats we get at 4am when we wake up breathing heavily, feeling an impending doom upon us.
My favorite lyric from this track is “Peel me, Skin me, Douse me, In Gasoline”. This is the part of the track most people scream back at me during our shows.
It’s catchy, easy to remember and repetitive, but I also think it paints this really grotesque image of physical torment into mental torture as it enters our ear drums through this songs lyrics.
‘PURIFY’
Purify is easily one of my favorite tracks on this project. I changed the concept of this song numerous times, as I was struggling with the lyrics that I did really love for it. This was initially our anger anthem, but after a change of heart and feelings taking place, it all and all is about our relationships with the horrors that often appear in overbearing religion.
The confession here is quite literal, as the song goes back and forth between that of a non believer and the overwhelm of the church. There is a lot of physical imagery to unpack in this track with many references to the Catholic church.
This song isn’t made out as a means that all religion is a horrible thing. One’s connection to their inner beliefs can sometimes be a way of saving themselves from themselves, but rather this is a reference to the darker side of one’s connection to their god and the horrible, terrible things those beliefs have made some of us do. My favorite lyric from this track is “Crown of thorns, maybe a king, fuck a cross and die for your sins.”
It’s a push and pull of one’s relationship to their beliefs and where they see themselves in the eyes of their god. What will your beliefs make you do for a “greater purpose”?
‘BURGEON’
We were actually fortunate enough to do another write up solely about ‘BURGEON’ when we released it as a single a few months prior. If you want to read that article check it out here.
‘AMYGDALA’
This is a song entirely about weakness and the confession to oneself about our weaknesses.
AMYGDALA is all about the way we find ourselves enticed to fall into those weaknesses over and over again, almost finding comfort in them.
The lyrics primarily are referring to whatever depiction of weakness we seem to find ourselves in. It’s hard to put into words what I was feeling at the time of writing the lyrics for this song, but I think that’s exactly what it’s about. It’s about the loss of oneself into an indescribable and defeated feeling that we are slowly sinking into.
The track starts with an interview sample from none other than ‘Manson Family’ cult leader Charles Manson. This is a means of describing and comparing the mindset one has to fall into to let themselves be such an evil to overtake them in any sense. From seeing the world as a leader or a follower, it comes from the meld of one’s weakness into something that they believe to be better than their past reality.
My favorite lyric in this track is “The end is bitter when it’s all you’ll find”. This is a reference to only seeing the end of a scenario as darkness. This is the basis of weakness and the giving up of oneself.
‘TEETH’
TEETH is by far the most dynamic and intense track on this EP in both sound and concept. We wanted this song to sound like the world was ending and we really did our best to deliver that feeling, from the explosion at the 0 second mark to the slow decay as the song and ultimately the EP fades out into nothing but silence. TEETH is a confession to death. It’s about all of our most fucked up and horrific desires we could ever want.
This is what the basis of ‘LUST IN THE END’ is all about. Desire and confession. Lust.
TEETH takes this to another level as we describe textures of chewing away at one’s own teeth, physically breaking their bones to better fit into their own skin, and ultimately dying of a broken heart once their desires are all used up. My favorite lyric on this track is “Swallowing teeth for a taste of introspection that’s been laced”.
This lyric essentially is discussing being able to become closer to oneself by self consuming, yet the deeper you eat away at yourself the worse you ultimately feel and become. It’s a very dark outlook on one’s mental and physical wellbeing, but it’s a dark truth a lot of us often find ourselves lost in.
