“You sold my love for a piece of the cake.“
Since forming in 2004 and their first record in 2006 under the Nasty guise, it’s fair to say there have been a fair few releases from the beatdown unit over the years. The likes of Shooka and Declaring War have become fan favourites over the years, and even through lockdowns they strove to release Menace. While their previous release did begin to show signs of the overextension of their sound across so many releases, the H8000 representatives added swipes of personality to give it that extra layer. Now Heartbreak Criminals presents the challenge of if Nasty can pull it off again and stave off the staleness.
After the brooding atmospheric “Intro“, Nasty chuck in their first chuggy beatdown moments in “Roses” which will move any room, Tarnath yells “lost your touch, never enough“, adding in that emotive hook. Hype and empowerment is added on “Reality Check“; “I believe in myself, reality check” is commanded before the staple air raid siren sample rings out a blistering breakdown. The intensity doesn’t let up on “911” and “Total Domination“, filled with double-kicks a plenty. There is enough in these opening moments to satisfy anyone looking for something to throw their fists to.
On title track “Heartbreak Criminals“, Nasty go full force on the beatdown before breaking into what might be their longest moment of clean vocals (“Criminals, criminals, heartbreak criminals“). As the cleans hit, there is almost blink and you will miss it feel to the first third of the record, the sheer velocity and heaviness of Heartbreak Criminals being a force to keep pace with.
Rolling into what is essentially the second half of the record come “Resurrection” and “More Fire“, and it’s where Heartbreak Criminals begins to creak slightly. Both tracks are decent enough breakdown, yet there’s nothing really present to hook the record back in after the powerful opening stretch. “Nobody Cares” begins to reel it in, as it’s effectively a minute-long breakdown, which is always a good bit of fun.
“Kiss From a Rose” starts to mix things up again some rap-style clean vocals to catch the ear, even throwing in a guitar solo for good measure, which can again be probably put down as another Nasty first. The extended cut neatly breaks up the record, even if there might be purists that dislike it. “Declaring War” quickly returns to the fierce vocals and chuggs that have define Nasty over the years. “Chaos” is a perfectly fine closer, although it’s not difficult to wonder if the title track may have been better placed here.
Bar the occasional clean singing and the on-off guitar solo, it will be little surprise to many that the new Nasty record on the whole sounds like what Nasty have always sounded like. Lyrically, as seen on Menace, a breath of emotiveness is present across tracks such as “Roses” and “Heartbreak Criminals“. There is a sense though that this beatdown sound, and Nasty‘s iteration of it, might need a bit more than a few whistles and bells added to it to feel fresh and exciting
6/10
Heartbreak Criminals is out September 8th via Century Media Records, and can be pre-ordered here.