Norwegian blackened hardcore trio NAG have just dropped a new song titled “Unlimited Power Ballad”, a new single taken from the band’s forthcoming third album “Boys of Europe” due out on April 12th via Fysisk Format. This new track has premiered at Invisible Oranges, who commented “The working title for this song was “the pop song”, because it’s a little different from the typical NAG-song. A little slower, and almost like something that could be on the radio. In a sense, the song is the NAG-version of “What if God was one of us”, except he’s not a slob like one of us, more a well-meaning local councillor-type … All in all, a fun and different song that we like a lot!” Listen/share “Unlimited Power Ballad” here. The band had this to say about this new track: “The title itself is nicked from a Norwegian run-of-the-mill men’s clothing store franchise, but the song, of course, has a more ominous subject than menswear.
“Boys of Europe takes you on a brief and intense roller coaster ride through Europe’s history of strife and warfare. A history that clearly has not come to an end.” Nicked from a Norwegian standard men’s clothing store franchise, “Boys of Europe” has little to do with menswear, instead revolving around the ongoing war affecting Europe. NAG nail the age we live in well on the title track, where they put you on a brief and intense roller coaster ride through Europe’s history of strife and warfare. There are no preaching or military analyses to be found here, only a hint in the familiar resigned NAG-style: We’re not done yet. When the screaming feedback and the echo from the final NAG-howl on the album fades, you will probably not worry less about the future. If you missed it, the leading single and title track is still playing at this location. NAG is a three-piece metallic punk band hailing and howling from the Norwegian west coast, where the oil rush in the ‘60s and ‘70s provoked an existential shift from protestant self-denial to techno-optimistic hedonism. NAG, on the other hand, represents a return to the humility and resignation of generations past, back to a time when the steep mountains, the deep woods and the bottomless sea formed a living nightmare in people’s lives.
The band’s self-titled first album was released in 2016 to great underground response. No Clean Singing analysed the album quite precisely: “A fusing of crust, punk, hardcore, and metal that should get your head moving, and perhaps fuel your desire to punch the first motherfucker who gets on your bad side today.” CVLT Nation stated “I love the way this band is creating what the fuck they want, on their own fucking terms.” The album was even nominated “Best Metal Album” at the 2016 Norwegian Grammy Awards. The release was followed by numerous gigs in Norway and Europe, including a support tour for the mighty Kvelertak.
In the first months of 2018, NAG started working on their sophomore album with new bass player Ørjan Nag on board (who also mixed it). They quickly named the album “Nagged to Death”. Partly because of the silly word play, but mainly because making the Difficult Second Album felt, like pretty much everything else in the Nag brothers’ lives, more like work than play. Alas, by the grace of the protestant work ethic, they finished the job thoroughly. They decided early on in the process to stay true to the fire-breathing black metallic-hardcore punk formula established on their debut album, only with the fast parts faster, the hard parts harder and the lyrics even more passive-aggressive.
Now, six years later NAG finally returned from obscurity with a new album titled “Boys Of Europe”, where although their hair has become grayer, and their backs hurt more, they still sound like raging teenagers. In other words, NAG have stayed true to their moderately original formula, and the album is as hard, fast, and straightforward as anything. In short, the album has everything they pulled off well on the previous ones – and more! | 
