American Nightmare – American Nightmare

Reinvigorated Classic Hardcore Punk

2018 is a year of unlikely triumph for Boston’s American Nightmare. Since splitting back in 2004, band members went on to pursue other projects such as Cold Cave and Head Automatica, but nothing seemed to stick just as well as American Nightmare. The band’s two LPs, Background Music and We’re Down Til We’re Underground, released in 2001 and 2003 respectively, inspired the post hardcore and punk genres, only to lead to minimal follow up from the group. Now, the band comes back into the fray with a 2018 self titled release, American Nightmare. Although the 2018 effort sounds a bit different than their first two installments ,with notably less aggression from the vocalist, the LP is a mature effort with greatly improved production.

Though some things may differ, much does stay the same on American Nightmare. The songwriting and structuring are still similar to the band’s trademark early 2000s sound and the length of the songs themselves remain short and snackable. The album begins with “The World is Blue,” which initiates chaos right out of the gate as it produces straight up thrash. This song is essentially a reminder of exactly who American Nightmare is, and it serves that purpose well.

The real highlights on the LP lie in the songs that go off the map of the standard American Nightmare repertoire. Although still fast, “Gloom Forever” and “Colder Than Death” both present moody vibes that are not found in any of the other tracks on the album. “Gloom Forever” in particular has some exceptional guitar work behind it, wherein the listener hears creepy and high guitar notes throughout the tune. On “Colder Than Death” the band combines some slow moving thrash with a rhythmic low voice over, which is something American Nightmare is rather new to. In both instances, American Nightmare shows that they can expand and grow.

Overall, the LP acts as both a turn back of the clock to the American Nightmare of the past, and also an indication of the future. A 14 year hiatus is no easy thing to come back from, and American Nightmare showed that they can maintain a similar style and also provide some new direction after so many years. American Nightmare fans will be delighted, and fans of punk rock, hardcore and thrash will gravitate to this album.