NAILS have signed to Closed Casket Activities, and marked it with a two-song 7" called "Fear Based Life" — streaming now, on vinyl October 9. It is also a bridge to what comes next: the Oxnard, California band's fifth album is due in summer 2027.
The deal formalises a relationship that has been running quietly for most of the band's life. "NAILS has been very fortunate to work with great labels. All throughout the band's existence, there's not a bad label that the band have worked with. In fact, they've all been great," the band said. "A look into the backend of NAILS — I've been working with Justin Louden of Closed Casket Activities since 2011. All NAILS decisions regarding tour decisions, business decisions, all of the behind the scenes stuff… we conferred with him to help with perspective and insight regarding how we made our moves and executed the vision for NAILS. There hasn't been a more instrumental asset to NAILS than Closed Casket Activities in the past 15 years. Signing a record deal with Closed Casket Activities is the best move for NAILS."
The two tracks are the title song and "Dollar Bin Generation".
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Both were written at the end of last year, and the band are clear that they belong together. "NAILS put these 2 songs together November/December 2025. Writing them was a true collaborative effort between the three of us. We decided to release them as we thought they complimented each other well together."
Andrew Solis recorded the release and Nick Townsend mastered it. The front cover is a Jef Whitehead painting — WREST — with interior artwork by Cavan Hoover, photography shot in Berlin by Duran Levinson, and layout and text by Martin Stuart. "Jef Whitehead aka WREST did an incredible job with the front cover artwork as well as Cavan Hoover with the inner artwork," the band said. "It was a great experience putting this release together and working with everyone who collaborated on it including Closed Casket Activities."
NAILS take the songs to Europe in October for ten dates across the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, with ROTTEN SOUND and INVUNCHE out for the run.
NAILS European tour dates:
| Date | City | Venue | With |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 02 | London, UK | New Cross Inn | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE, HARROWED |
| Oct 03 | Glasgow, UK | SWG3 Warehouse | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
| Oct 04 | Leeds, UK | Brudenell Social Club | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
| Oct 05 | Manchester, UK | Rebellion | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
| Oct 06 | Birmingham, UK | Asylum | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
| Oct 07 | London, UK | Scala | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE, WOLFBRIGADE |
| Oct 08 | Köln, DE | Essigfabrik | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE, WOLFBRIGADE |
| Oct 09 | Nijmegen, NL | Soulcrusher | — |
| Oct 10 | Hanover, DE | Musikzentrum | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
| Oct 11 | Berlin, DE | Lido | ROTTEN SOUND, INVUNCHE |
Stream and pre-order "Fear Based Life": nails.lnk.to/fearbasedlife