LIVE REVIEW: NERVOSA + ASYLUM @ CROWBAR 20/4/25
Nervosa Photo Charlyn Cameron
Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi. Photos Charlyn Cameron. NERVOSA have been hailed as one of Brazil’s finest thrash metal bands and they are here in Australia for their very first time and they played The Crowbar in Brisbane. And, what an amazing night of cathartic music delivered from NERVOSA and their astounding support band Asylum.
The Crowbar had two excellent bands from the thrash metal scene to perform a night of pure underground music madness. As NERVOSA brought fifteen years of their back catalogue in music, and local thrash metal band Asylum in support of their first ever visit to Brisbane. And, I can tell you that you know when bands are going hard, it’s when even your fancy earplugs are overcome, and you can feel the sound waves coming off the stage, the floor and walls.
I got a VIP ticket for this event as I knew it was going to be something special and unique. Hearing and then watching the sound checks and warm-ups from both bands was amazing and worth every cent as it is amazing watching professional musicians at work.
The evening commenced with a lively set from Asylum. Asylum is a Brisbane-based thrash metal band, known for their high-energy performances, and showcasing their musical fire. Asylum is: Rob Armstrong, Levi Damaris, Shane Robins and Tim Maastricht. However, tonight was Tim Maastricht’s last gig with the band. And, when asked by the crowd why he was leaving, he joked: “there’s no money it!”
Asylym Photo Charlyn Cameron
Asylum kicked off their set with a powerful opening track ‘Genocidal Conspiracy’ and that merged into the track ‘Eternal Violence’ setting the tone of the night that was going to be dynamic and fast-paced. What was amazing was Asylum’s stage set-up (and I know it was due to how NERVOSA had placed their drum kit) but it was so good to see the drummer out in front. So often the drummer is hidden up the back. It meant that the crowd could see the drummer’s excellent work at driving the rhythm which was at full force from the start.
It was at the track ‘Cruelty Obsessed’ that the guitarists really hit their stride. The skill level from the guitarists was simply amazing to watch. Their fingers were literally dancing over the strings and the machine gun pulses from the guitars joined with the bass guitar to make the most astonishing sounds – machine gun fire riffs and rapid pulses.
Asylum Photo Charlyn Cameron
For the fans in the crowd the tracks ‘Concealed Death’, ‘Sadistic Intent’ and the closing song of the set ‘Tyrannicide’ were met with real joy. The crowd really got into the circle pit, there was moshing and lots of aggression dancing done in a very respectful manner. It was a great warm up for the crowd and Asylum were just terrific.
The house lights came up. The stage was re-arranged and equipment was moved. Then, the curtains were drawn across the stage so that some mystery around NERVOSA’s set up was maintained. And, other than helping to work out how to draw the curtains across the stage, there were comments about “Didn’t know they were a thing or went that way?!”
The crowd re-fuelled and waited patiently. For what we were all waiting for was the sheer spectacle of seeing some extremely talented women play some brutal thrash metal.
Asylum Photo Charlyn Cameron
NERVOSA is a Brazilian-Greek thrash metal band originally from São Paulo, Brazil. The band was founded in 2010 by guitarist Prika Amaral. NERVOSA have released five albums with their latest being ‘JAILBREAK!’ in 2023. NERVOSA comprises of: Prika Amaral (vocals/guitar), Helena Kotina (guitar), Michaela Naydenova (drums) and Hel Pyre (bass). Their musical style can be described as fast-paced, aggressive, and technically complex thrash metal.
The curtains opened and the twin guitar attack of Helena Kotina and Prika Amaral took centre stage at The Crowbar with ‘Seed of Death’. In fact, NERVOSA simply destroyed on stage, sounding amazing from the first notes of ‘Seed of Death’ until the very last seconds of ‘Endless Ambition’. The sound of the band was like a thump in the chest with the pounding of sound waves being delivered for the whole set. I don’t know what they’re teaching or feeding female musicians in Brazil because heavy metal coming out of NERVOSA and that country is just so skilled, alive and joyful.
NERVOSA fired on all cylinders and let it all out last tonight and on tracks like ‘Behind The Wall’, ‘Death’, ‘Kill The Silence’ (which Prika Amaral dedicated to ladies everywhere suffering at the hands of abusers), and ‘Masked Betrayer’ where she sang so fiercely her eyes almost flashed like some ancient goddess each time she flipped back her waist long blonde hair to lean into the microphone where she growled the next verse.
Nervosa Photo Charlyn Cameron
NERVOSA’s tight and rapid-fire set was polished, but at the same time, there was this relaxed vibe. As they launched into ‘Perpetual Chaos’ and ‘Venomous’ the crowd was really pumping. The band directed mosh pits, there was much head banging and hair whipping, extreme dancing and there was even a crowd surfer or two. I must admit I got so caught up in watching NERVOSA’s technical skill and enjoying their performance that I may have missed a bit of what was going on behind me.
The band delivered ‘Under Ruins’ and then the crowd favourites of ‘Kill Or Die’, the amazing ‘Jailbreak’ that got the crowd fist pumping and screaming along, and ‘Guided By Evil’. NERVOSA displayed their technical prowess with very skilled guitar work from Helena Kotina and the bass rhythm work from Hel Pyre. There was also their power to enchant with Prika Amaral’s blonde and Hel Pyre’s brunette long windmill headbanging. It was very sexy to witness!
Nervosa Photo Charlyn Cameron
Then, what seemed like a blink of an eye, the last song ‘Endless Ambition’ was to be played. By now, NERVOSA knew how to deal with the crowd with the promise to return to Australia soon. Prika Amaral thanked the crowd for supporting NERVOSA and promised the band will return to Brisbane sooner rather than later.
NERVOSA and Asylum gave us a memorable Easter Sunday night gig that soothed the metalhead junky in all of us there at The Crowbar. The night was fun and jubilant. NERVOSA was also generous with their time chatting with fans before and after the gig. It was great to see that level of interaction. I really hope next time NERVOSA get a much bigger crowd because they definitely deserve it as their set was electrifying. It was a very cool finish to their Australian tour.
Photos from the night: Nervosa gallery.
