Nasty Habits – “Material” (With Benefits)

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As you probably know by now, I’m a huge fan of the Venice crossover scene of the late 80’s early 90’s.  As an active part of the scene right from the start, Jon Nelson played in a number of bands including Suicidal Tendencies, managed a number of local bands and founded his own record label.  I interviewed Jon last year for All About The Rock, where he revealed that his band Nasty Habits were  going to rerecord, remaster, and rerelease their 2009 album Skinned Alive.

“Material” (With Benefits) is the result, and man what an album!  I loved the original release, but this rerecording has taken the ten tracks of hard hitting rock to a completely new level.

Opener ‘Devil’s Playground‘ is a hard rock track with a Hendrix vibe and elements of the blues, and sets the tone nicely for the album.  ‘Because she Loves Me‘ and ‘Do What Thou Whilst‘ are both faster than the first track, but retain the same feel and manage to sound timeless – you can imagine these being hits in the 70’s, and yet they don’t sound dated at all.

‘Attack Of The Blues‘ is an introspective track, about the end of a relationship.  It’s moving stuff, “Now that it’s over, it burns and it stings… I don’t know why she don’t wanna be my friend anymore…” croons Jon over the bluesy riffs.

My favourite track from the album is ‘Jacqueline‘.  A beautiful melancholic number that is catchy as hell and is one of those songs that sounds like a classic right from the off.  Check out the official video below –

‘Caving In‘, ‘Left Behind‘ and ‘Taken Away‘ are more aggressive tracks, and show the band’s heavier side.  The contrast of styles on the album show what talented musicians Jon Nelson (guitars, vocals), Stephan Klein (bass), and Justin Pace (drums) are.  Musically these guys are tight as hell and seeing them play live must be a fantastic experience.

‘By Him I’m Known‘ is laid back and chilled, again sounding like a classic from back in the day, with some impressive riffs and intricate guitar work.  Final track ‘Whatever Works‘ is almost punk rock in nature, but still with the distinctive Nasty Habits sound.  It’s a great way to end the album, and the incredibly rewarding musical journey that is “Material” (With Benefits).

Nasty Habits have created an amazing album with “Material” (With Benefits) and if you’re a fan of Hendrix, Black Sabbath, or rock music in general then this is an album you need to check out.  Simply outstanding!

Score: 9 out of 10

ALBUM INFO

Tracklist
1. Devil’s Playground
2. Because She Loves Me
3. Do What Thou Whilst
4. Attack Of The Blues
5. Jacqueline
6. Caving In
7. By Him I’m Known
8. Left Behind
9. Taken Away
10. Whatever Works

Record Label
TMG

Release Date
October 8th 2013

Links
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Nasty_Habits_Material_with_Benefits?id=Bg5fhxhpk3p4d3tzgqv4ljmvf4e&hl=en_GB
http://www.nastyhabitsband.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nasty-Habits/179330115419622?fref=ts