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Rating: Nail, or one of the most intense and powerful albums in the history of music as a whole. James Thirlwell, also known as Foetus, arrives at this prodigious masterpiece in 1985, at least a decade ahead of much future rock. Nail, even today, presents dark and unclear aspects, but this is also the primary strength of an immortal work that manages, in any case, to shock the listener's soul, for better or worse, beyond any meaning or barrier.
To fully understand its artistic significance, it is therefore not enough to dwell on a specific analysis of the music, as useful as that may be, but we must first premise the "philosophical" scope that characterizes all the tracks.
Like a sort of Freud, Foetus completes his representation of industrial music by penetrating our subconscious, showing us a deep psychic dimension where the most destructive and dangerous feelings of the human soul are concentrated, ranging from evil instincts to homicidal fantasies, passing through sexual impulses.
The subconscious thus becomes the dimension of man devoid of logical criteria, where irrationality reigns supreme, but what differentiates Foetus's subconscious from Freud’s is its strongly negative, almost cursed connotation.
Having said this, we can clarify the purpose of this concept album, which is identified in the achievement of liberation or redemption, obtainable, however, through real paradoxes, living directly the most repugnant and disgusting aspects that characterize our existence, those conditions shown to us by the subconscious. Ultimately, the music of Foetus is characterized by a destructive tension that is nothing short of terrifying, coinciding with a vision of the world and life that is infernal.
The attainment of this awareness (world = hell) leads to the natural consequence of liberation from the hidden fears that characterize everyday life, as highlighted by the concluding "Anything (Viva!)" - "Any Goddamn Thing I Want" - in an icy atmosphere that seems to seal the annulment of all moral values through the explosion of all the instruments.
However, the path to reach this truth is not at all easy to undertake; instead, it is presented from the beginning as tortuous and full of obstacles. It starts with "Theme From Pigdom Come," almost two minutes of Wagnerian epicity, in which Thirlwell demonstrates his passion for classical and avant-garde music. The atmosphere is immediately icy, impenetrable, and effectively prepares the entry of the subsequent "The Throne Of Agony," with a frenetic and pounding rhythm; punk violence merges with industrial and synth-pop in a deadly fusion that culminates in the sinister and threatening noises of "!".
Following the agony experience, there is a first revelation of unconscious contents with Pigswill, one of the key tracks not only of this album but of Foetus's entire discography. The main theme is that of murder, described with catastrophic emphasis in an apocalyptic dimension, through metallic guitar riffs with disturbing percussions that overlap the voice and chase each other in an extraordinary symphonic crescendo ("Destroy, Destroy!!!").
"Descent Into The Inferno" is another sound nightmare staged with class and ease, sung with an almost singer-songwriter tone but at the same time possessed and drunken. When Mike Patton experiments with certain melodies with Mr. Bungle, he will be hailed as a genius by his fans.
In "Enter The Exterminator," we find Foetus narrating events, criminal episodes in a metropolitan setting, while with DI-1-9026 a deconstruction and reconstruction of different and distant genres like jazz, funk, and industrial itself is performed, which are sublimated into a strongly original musical style that always feels new.
"The Overture From Pigdome Come" is the continuation of the initial "Theme From Pigdom Come," an industrial symphony that still alludes to Richard Wagner, bringing back to light the tragic and dramatic sense of the individual's existence.
Hardly agreeable, but also for this absolutely brilliant, this utopian conception of deeply degraded human life in its obscenities allows industrial, for the first time, to transform into something "absolute," something capable of perfectly merging with other contemporary musical cultures.
After all these nice words, only one in particular can best summarize what has been said about Nail. You just have to guess it, perhaps by getting the record in question.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Pigswill (06:13)
P...I...G...S...W...I...L...L
DESTROY... ALL... GIRLS!
Nomadic honeymooners pick up hitchhiker... shackin up, shakin down
Stagin RAMSHACKLE RUN on every caravan front... shackin up, shakin down
Carnal carnage up and down the coast
Finger in dyke and hand on post
Make a boy all HOT and BOTHERED
Thighs like water... runnin sore
Quaver in crotchet and key to the door
Him say D...E...S...T...R...O...Y
DESTROY... ALL... GIRLS
PIGSWILL fly with BLOOD tonight
PIGSWILL fly with BLOOD tonight
There'll be a HOT TIME in the old town tonight
There'll be a HOT TIME in the old town tonight
Left him John Hancock in her blood on that SWEATY PINK SHEET
That bloodstain's BURNIN BURNIN BURNIN BURNIN BURNIN hole in him meat
Smearin PIGSWILL with her pants on the white plaster wall
With menstrual blood
PIGSWILL stagger across the hall
Checkin outa Motel Carnage--and havin a ball
On a storm black blooded night...PIGSWILL MURDER ON HIM MIND
Him cry out D...E...S...T...R...O...Y
DESTROY... ALL... GIRLS!
DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY
Sharkfins slashin at the mission rails
Salty liquid diet and rusty nails
Shark bit and snakes teeth
Crawlin with maggots and grimy gold leaf
The bladder and bowels of poverty for a roving cataract to see
Five years without an anchor
Suitcase full of contraband
Making a virtue out of sin
Siphoning the sea of the damned
THOU SHALT NOT STICK IT OUT IF YOU AIN'T GONNA SHARE IT
Pigswill murder on him mind... MAN of MARBLE, FLESH and CLAY
Pigswill climb up BLACK BOOT HILL... Lord of all that he surveys
SWEET STICKY SMELL of BLOOD still fresh on him, HAND and CHEST
BLOODY SKIRTS A-FLAPPIN ON THE FLAGPOLE TONIGHT
D...E...S...T...R...O...Y
DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY... DESTROY
DESTROY... ALL... GIRLS
PIGSWILL fly with BLOOD tonight... MEAT in SHOWER with KITCHEN KNIFE
PIGSWILL weatherin the flood... PIGSWILL fly the flag of blood
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight
SKIRTS-A-FLAPPIN on the flagpole tonight
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight
There'll be a HOT TIME in the OLD TOWN TONIGHT
DESTROY... DESTROY...
05 Descent into the Inferno (06:17)
Another hungover morning in the bottom of the Black
Lagoon
Purgatory disguised as a room with a view
I used to be in heaven looking down... now I know the
inferno from the inside
And you can't see out them windows
And smoke gets in your eyes
And eyes just wanna cry cry cry cry cry cry cry...
An obscene sprawling landscape of NOTHING
And NOTHING is its middle name
Meet you on the corner of Nothing and Nowhere... where
in hell is that?
So flat you can't see ten feet in front
I want everything to disappear
Give me an ISOLATION TANK, make a withdrawal from my
BLOOD BANK
Give me another STIFF one... and make it a double
I don't know when I've had enough
But I've NEVER had enough and I've never bin BAD
enough
I need it and I need it BAD
And if it ain't bad it ain't worth having
I ain't the most popular boy I know, that's common
knowledge in this town
I'm trying hard to D.I.Y. but everything is broken
down
GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH... You get what's coming to ya
You get a stomach tumour
You get a stake right through your HEART
I recognize thee Satan and I spit in thine face
Whatever happened to the human race?
What happened to the humanistic faith?
What happens to human waste?
I wanna get the hell out but there ain't much hope of
that
FALLEN into the ABYSS like a roach in a trap
There ain't a hope in Hades... there ain't a hope in
Hell
There ain't a hope in Hades... there ain't a hope in
HELL
I don't need a mother no more
I'd rather be an ORPHAN or a SONOVABITCH or a BASTARD
SON who's been dug
up DEAD, worms in eyesockets, holes in ma head
Don't excavate if you ain't diggin for gold
Cos it's a long way up when you're SIX FEET UNDER
Under a pile of HUMAN DEBRIS
A life fulla LIES and SHIT and RUBBLE
You wanna save yourself the trouble
GORY GLORY HALLELUJAH... You get what's comin to ya
You get a stomach tumour
You get a stake right through your HEART
IT ISN'T VERY PRETTY WHAT A TOWN WITHOUT PITY CAN DO
Staring into a waste of space
Bring on the MONOTONY bring on the LOBOTOMY
And make it a double, and make it a pact
I've had more than I can stand--and hors d'oeuvre of
maniac
I've had more fun in an IRON LUNG
I'm cancelling my NEXT BIRTHDAY
I mo wait til the witching hour then watch my life
come tumblin' down
The moon's so full it's spilling over
There ain't a hope in HADES... THERE AIN'T A HOPE IN
HELL
IT ISN'T VERY PRETTY WHAT A TOWN WITHOUT PITY CAN DO
GLORY GORY HELLELUJAH... You get what's coming to ya
You get a stake right through ya through ya
You get a stake right through your HEART
IT ISN'T VERY PRETTY WHAT A TOWN WITHOUT PITY CAN DO
NO IT AIN'T VERY PRETTY WHAT A TOWN WITHOUT PITY CAN
DO
DESCEND... DESCEND
DESCEND... DESCEND... DESCEND... DESCEND
06 Enter the Exterminator (04:43)
The waiting becomes torture... distractions become
bliss
Futility's a luxury when you sleep in blood sperm
vomit and piss
Huddling to the dead for support... jacking off for
warmth
Swaddled in less than ashes and rags
The payoff's always been over the ridge and the pot of
gold is full of shit
No hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to work we go
Another merry go-down go-down go-down go-down go-down
go-down GO-DOWN
I seen a prisoner without a clause, living on a diet
of dirt and water
Being SLAPPED and SLICED because she didn't happen to
agree with the WAR-DEN
(He had an itchy trigger finger...)
Jackboots battering a tattoo on the inside of my
skull
Militantly hankering for something never done
High school memories, once a folly, are now reality
due to sheer
LACK of PRESENT
Death without a trial... dyin ain't a trial...
Dying ain't a curse but living sure is worse
EACH EXPERIENCE BECOMES MY EPILOGUE
Countin my ribs for the thousandth time
Dyin on a diet of GRUEL and GRIME
They fall down, they don't rise again
Where the women are TRODDEN and FORGOTTEN are men
They're giving birth to ORPHANS
BLACK JEW GLUE
The air is old, the comments are cold, I'm covered in
lice and scabs and mold
My days are numbered, I'm in a daze
The door creaks open, the whole room prays...
ENTER THE EXTERMINATOR... ENTER THE EXTERMINATOR
I hear the sweet sound of syringes crushed underfoot
See who set the homefires burning, see who set the
husbands burning
Make the accusation stick
Morale is thin, the air is thick
Hard earned self-esteem goes up in a puff of smoke
I'm waitin to die... I'm waitin to die
To much of a coward to snuff myself... GUESS I'LL JUST
HAVE TO SUFFER MYSELF
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO DETONATOR... ENTER THE
EXTERMINATOR
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO DETONATOR... ENTER THE
EXTERMINATOR
TERMINATE... TERMINATE... TERMINATE... TERMINATE
07 DI-1-9026 (04:40)
I'm gonna explode... I'm gonna explode
I'm gonna explode explode explode explode EXPLODE
Turn on... Tune in... Drop Out
Turn in... Tune on... Drop Out
Drop Out... Drop Out... DROP OUT
Take me to your CRASHPAD, baby
Empty out your TRASHCAN, baby
I AM THE SON OF MAN
I AM THE SON OF SLAM
Take me by the HAM, no GOOD no EVIL no GIVE-A-DAMN
RAM BALAM BALAM BAM DAMN DAMN... RAM BALAM BALAM BAM
DAMN DAMN
RAM BALAM BALAM BAM DAMN DAMN... RAM BALAM BALAM BAM
DAMN DAMN
The positive collects negatives so GIMME YOUR MIND,
GIMME YOUR MIND
submission's a gift, free your mind
GIVE IT TO YOUR BROTHER... FREE YOUR MIND
Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die?
Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die? LIVE
FOREVER!
Live forever--we're the chosen people
Live forever--we're the chosen few
BLAST THE PAST--YOU CAN'T KILL KILL
live forever--we're the chosen few
If you wanna get some kicks phone DI-1-9026
I'm outa control... I'm up for parole
I'M GONNA EXPLODE! I'M GONNA EXPLODE
I'm outa control... I'm up for parole!
I'M GONNA EXPLODE! I'M GONNA EXPLODE! I'M GONNA
EXPLODE!
I'M GONNA EXPLODE! I'M GONNA EXPLODE! I'M GONNA
EXPLODE!
DI-1-9026! DI-1-9026! DI-1-9026! DI-1-9026!
ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!ZAP!... I'm
supercharged...
Turn on... Tune in... DROP OUT DROP OUT DROP OUT DROP
OUT
Gonna take a dive (TAKE A DIVE) down to 3301 Waverly
Drive
The chosen few are gonna arrive 10050 Cielo Drive
The pigs are gonna taste the knife when the chosen few
arrive
No-one's gonna be left alive
No-one gets outa here alive
String up the piggies and let 'em have it
It's the pigs' turn now to try the cross
SLIT THEIR SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLIES... LET 'EM KNOW
WHO'S BOSS
The pigs are gonna taste the knife--10050 CIELO DRIVE
When the chosen few arrive... NO-ONE GETS OUTA HERE
ALIVE
Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die?
Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die? GET THE
FEAR!
I'M GOD! I'M JESUS! I'M SATAN!
I'M GOD! I'M JESUS! I'M SATAN!
DEATH TO THE PIGS!
ADIOS!
SEE YA LATER!
10 Anything (Viva!) (06:50)
FEE FI FO FUM
It takes two to tangle it takes one to come
Some things are better left unsaid, like
A pound of protection beats an ounce of lead
FEE FI FO FUM
There must be some kinda romance in bein DUMB
Find a belt fulla bullets, fill your head fulla dread
Float like a butterfly, sting like a MANTA RAY
FEE FI FO FUM
There must be some kinda romance in being DUMB
Cos the blind lead the blind lead the blind lead the
blind lead the blind lead the blind ead the blind
lead
the blind lead the BLIND
...and every man for himself
You start to admire the flagrant disregard
For the sanctity of other peoples lives
By the FILTHY FEW in positions of POWER
Who go for the jugular in order to survive
DISINFECT those dangerous RABID DOGS
Make sure the kids stay in
Cos if you wanna be immortal you gotta have something
to trade in...
Tobacco chompin' soldier of misfortune in that battle
they call life
With the warm soft breeze of SANTA ANA whistlin round
dem frail dry bones
I'm da COCKROACH in your tinseltown--
CRY YOU MERCY! I AM THE LAW!
When the time runs out
When the money runs out
I CAN DO ANY GODDAMN THING I WANT!
Get outa my sight
Get outa my way
Get outa my way
GET OUTA MY WAY
Run the gauntlet north and south
March on up to the cannon's mouth
And say I can do any goddamn thing I want
Take the bull by the horns
Gonna slit me some throats on the White House lawns
I can do any goddamn thing I want
I'm the cockroach in your tinseltown
CRY YOU MERCY--I AM THE LAW!
And I can do any goddamn thing I want
POWER makes PAIN so wear rhino hide
If you see a white flash you better cover your eyes
Cos I can do any goddamn thing I want
CHANGE YOUR MIND--MIND YOUR CHANGE
KEEP THE ENEMY IN FOCUS AND IN YOUR RANGE
AND SAY I CAN DO ANY GODDAMN THING I WANT
I can do ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
Get outa ma way
GET OUTA MA WAY!
I can do any goddamn thing I want
I can do any goddamn thing I want
I can do any GODDAMN THING I WANT
I CAN DO ANY GODDAMN THING I WANT
I can do ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
ANYTHING!
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