{"id":50478,"date":"2015-10-17T08:57:21","date_gmt":"2015-10-17T13:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=50478"},"modified":"2015-10-17T08:57:21","modified_gmt":"2015-10-17T13:57:21","slug":"intrinsic-nails-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/intrinsic-nails-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Intrinsic | Nails<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Intrinsic\"California-based power\/thrash band Intrinsic was doing pretty well as the 1990s rolled in, especially when you consider how far removed they were geographically from both the L.A. and San Francisco metal scenes. They had one full-length (1987\u2019s Intrinsic<\/em>) and an EP (1990\u2019s Distortion of Perspective<\/em>) under their belts and despite some major lineup changes managed to write and record a very strong follow-up full-length, titled Nails<\/em>. Unfortunately no one wanted to release it. The labels, once snatching up any Thrash Metal album they could get their hands on, saw a new musical landscape in the early \u201890s, and that flannel-clad wasteland had no place for a power-infused Thrash metal band like Intrinsic. Nails<\/em> was shelved, and the band went on an extended hiatus.<\/p>\n

Until now, that is. Nearly 25 years after it was recorded, Nails<\/em> is finally seeing the light of day on the Divebomb Records label. The album, rescued from the original DAT tapes and newly remixed, can now be heard by the fans. Fortunately, Nails<\/em> is an album that\u2019s actually worth the wait. Intrinsic<\/em> was not just your average Thrash band churning out Metallica-worship. Power Metal, Progressive Metal and even classic hard rock all factor in to the Nails<\/em> sound, resulting in an album that sounds like Sanctuary meets Forbidden meets Heathen. The thrashing riffs are relentless, and there\u2019s a precision and technicality to the rhythms that hints at Toxik. Lee Dehmer\u2019s high pitched vocals are where the Power Metal element comes into play. His power and range are just a cut above so many of Intrinsic\u2019s peers, and at times you\u2019d swear you were listening to John Arch. Not always, but there are definitely moments. Even the backing vocals are strong.<\/p>\n

Nails<\/em> is a really strong album overall, and a unique enough one that it holds up quite well despite being very distinctly the product of another era. If you\u2019re looking to sample a couple of tracks to get a feel for the Intrinsic<\/em> sound, songs like \u201cFight No More,\u201d \u201cOn Gossamer Wings\u201d and opening thrasher \u201cState of the Union\u201d ought to do the trick. Covering Led Zeppelin\u2019s classic \u201cDazed & Connfused\u201d was an unusual choice for a Thrash band, but Intrinsic pulled it off surprisingly well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often that the Heavy Metal vaults are opened and we receive a rare gem like this. If you\u2019re one of the faithful Intrinsic fans from way back, Nails has to be a dream come true. For the rest of us, Nails may very well be our introduction to this underrated band. It\u2019s definitely an album that fans of technical and power-driven thrash metal – specifically bands like Sanctuary, Heathen, Toxic, Forbidden and Vicious Rumors \u2013 will want to hear.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: As noted earlier, the original Nails<\/em> album has been newly remixed for this release. It has also been newly mastered, and features the bonus track \u201cCannabis Sativa\u201d (you can guess what that one\u2019s about), as well as a booklet loaded with lyrics, vintage photos and an extended essay on this album\u2019s long journey. Like all Divebomb titles, this one looks as good as it sounds.<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash Metal<\/p>\n

Lineup:
\nLee Dehmer (v)
\nGarrett Craddock (g) (v)
\nJoel Max Stern (b)
\nChris Binns (d) (v)
\nMichael Mellinger (g) (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tState of the Union
\n2.\tFight No More
\n3.\tDie Trying
\n4.\tOn Gossamer Wings
\n5.\tPillar of Fire
\n6.\tMourn For Her
\n7.\tThe Vicious Circle
\n8.\tDenial
\n9.\tYikes!
\n10.\tInner Sanctum
\n11.\tDazed & Confused
\n12.\tToo Late, But Not Forgotten
\n13.\tCannabis Sativa<\/p>\n

Label: Divebomb Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/intrinsicofficialpage<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist — California-based power\/thrash band Intrinsic was doing pretty well as the 1990s rolled in, especially when you consider how far removed they were geographically from both the L.A. and […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":50479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[2317,923,11740,11741,1101],"class_list":{"0":"post-50478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-divebomb-records","10":"tag-intrinsic","11":"tag-nails","12":"tag-thrash-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}