Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s quartet Nervcast just recently unleashed their four-song début EP, ‘Locked And Loaded‘, on October 21st.
The EP was mastered by Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandra, The Devil Wears Prada) and produced/ engineered by Collin Young (Animal Faces, Godstopper, Yonder Peak). It captures the band’s love for classic rock while maintaining today’s highest possible standard in modern production.
Truth be told, that is more than merely the title of this fourfold salvo of old-school, metal-inspired music. The band, Everett Mason (vocals and guitar), Galen Weir (bass), Kevin Daliri (guitar), and Matt Humphreys (drums) have created four hard-hitting tracks that are fiercely catchy and possess relevant lyrics.
The songs have magical melds of classic heavy metal flavoring, with infectious appeal and popular rock delivery. Hooks and feel-good elements abound in their highly energetic, fiery content. So much, that it is almost impossible to not embrace each of them with an eager zeal to crank them up as high as they will go.
From the early Metallica-ish vibes of the introductory song “Chemical Solution“, with its chugging, thrashy guitars, this music pierces into you and won’t let go. The vocals also have that vintage taint to them and the song sets the bar quite high for everything else that follows.
Undaunted, the guys take a slower ride with the second selection, “Fallen Angels” (official video below), which provides a nice contrast to its predecessor. Tight, solid playing with cool grooves and top-notch singing, while I especially dig the drum work here. A one-eighty turn to the heavy side eventually occurs and yields some scorching guitar leads to take things out.
With “Moonstruck” comes a wave of massive retro-fueled hard rock feeling, it ripples with swagger and attitude, but does so in a seeming laid back demeanor. Ballsy but with a bit of the ol’ quiet, cool type personality, not unlike that of the overblown egos of the Eighties. It’s all here in this number, one that’s definitely a high point of the EP.
The fourth and final cut is the “Locked And Loaded” title track and it is where my claim of “more than a title” comes true. With a furious onslaught of contemporary metal content, this one rages right from the get-go. With dizzying rhythms rendered, I particularly like hearing those bass lines rumble and power the song underneath all else that’s going on. The song has quickly become my favorite of the four and once you hear it, you will know why… and may share the same sentiment!
‘Locked And Loaded‘ indeed! This début from Nervcast is a bombastic barrel ride of nostalgia-inducing metaldom. It is superbly fantastic and phenomenally fulfilling with its retro textures and present-day components. I suggest you pull the trigger on it now via the Bandcamp embed streaming here, I think you will thoroughly dig it. Definitely for fans of Trivium, Metallica, or Wrathchild America.
In addition to the EP’s recent release, Nervcast has announced they will be performing a series of Ontario live dates. The remaining ones are listed below.
Nov 8 – Toronto, ON – Cherry Cola’s – info
Dec 15 – Toronto, ON – Hard Luck Bar – info
