Nail (album)

Nail is the fourth studio album by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel. It was released in October 1985, through record labels Self Immolation and Some Bizzare.

Nail
Studio album by
Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel
ReleasedOctober 1985
Recorded1985 at Livingston, Paradise and Wave Studios, London, England
GenreIndustrial, industrial rock, avant-garde
Length40:04
LabelSelf Immolation/Some Bizzare
ProducerJ. G. Thirlwell and Warne Livesey
J. G. Thirlwell chronology
Hole
(1984)		 Nail
(1985)		 Dirtdish
(1987)

Background

The album incorporates a variety of musical genres, including classical and industrial rock, and the lyrics are often esoteric.[1] For example, the tempo and instrumentation in "Descent into the Inferno" is infrequent: the song's first half is sparse and percussive; in the latter stages the song gathers momentum and features synthesizers. "The Overture from Pigdom Come", a composition resembling a classical piece of music, is juxtaposed with perhaps the most brutal track on the album, "Private War", a track that features one minute of various grinding noises.

There are various obscure references within the songs, some more lucid than others. "The Throne of Agony" has the lyrics "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew me well",[2] a paraphrase of a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet (Hamlet: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio..."). The line "Turn on, tune in, drop out" in "DI-1-9026" refers to the Timothy Leary phrase. Jack and the Beanstalk is also referenced, with a variation of the chant "Fee, fie, foe, fum!" appearing in the final track.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Sounds[3]

AllMusic called it "possibly the best Foetus album [...] the sheer range of this music is hard to believe."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by J. G. Thirlwell.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Theme from Pigdom Come"1:52
2."The Throne of Agony"5:18
3."!"0:04
4."Pigswill!"6:13
5."Descent into the Inferno"6:17
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Enter the Exterminator"4:43
2."DI-1-9026"4:40
3."The Overture from Pigdom Come"3:01
4."Private War"1:06
5."Anything (Viva!)"6:50
Note: Some CD pressings place "The Throne of Agony" and "!" together on one track.

Re-issue

In 2007, the album was re-released by Some Bizzare records in a digipack format with remastered audio and re-worked artwork.

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1995Alternative PressUnited States "Top 99 of '85 to '95"29[4]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[5] 1
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References
  1. Farley, Keith. "Nail". Allmusic. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  2. "Official "Nail" Lyrics Sheet". foetus.org. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  3. King, Sam (April 14, 1990). "Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel: Nail". Sounds. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  4. "Top 99 Of '85 to '95". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  5. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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