Nervosa was in Brazil with a unique show celebrating 15 years of their career , which took place last Friday, the 5th, at Sesc Bom Retiro .
Taking advantage of their time in their hometown, the band held a press conference at Galeria do Rock to exclusively announce the release of their new album. While the date and title are yet to be revealed, the album is expected to arrive in the first half of 2026 and its first single will be released in January.
In an interview with Wikimetal , vocalist and founder Prika Amaral revealed some details about the album, as well as talking about the new lineup, tours, and the 15th-anniversary show.
Wikimetal: What can you tell us about the new album? Will there be any special guests?
Prika Amaral : This will be Nervosa's first album without any guest appearances. And I was so excited about the vocal aspect that I started experimenting with other things, and we ended up saying, 'Dude, this isn't working. We have to deliver.' Because it was truly crazy. We recorded this album in the middle of five tours in six months. I don't know how. It was madness, but we managed it.
WM: The constant changes in the band's lineup have always been a point of interest. What have you learned from this constant process of internal renewal?
PA: This period of frequent lineup changes came about because of the pandemic. Nervosa broke up, and I had to build a new band in a short time. Plus, women have never had as many opportunities; they don't have as much experience. Often, girls don't know what it's like to make a living from music on the road. They think that's what they want, and then when things start to happen, it's not quite like that. They want to continue being musicians, but perhaps in a different format, in a different way. So that was my biggest challenge, but thankfully now we have a more stable lineup, we've been together for over two years, recording our second album with the same lineup, only with a change of drummer, but that was actually expected.
WM: At any point did you feel afraid of losing the essence of the band? How did you work through that musically and emotionally?
PA: I don't think so. Because I've always been a very big and important part of Nervosa's composition. Of course, I never did anything alone; all the girls have their part, their importance. But many of the riffs, many of the ideas came from me. So, I believe that part of Nervosa's essence is with me. And I've always believed in the talent of thousands of girls out there in the world who play metal, from generations of girls I don't know. I always believe that people have a lot of talent to show. We are still a new band, still under construction. I was more concerned with continuing this responsibility of keeping Nervosa alive and making a living from what I love.
WM: Currently, the band consists of 5 girls. How would you describe the band's current phase in terms of sound and purpose??
PA: Regarding the sound… I’ve always viewed music as an art, something free. I’ll speak for myself, within my growth… Many years ago I had other, more extreme and restrictive ways of thinking, because the metal scene I came from, grew up in, and learned from was like that. So I molded myself a lot, because other people came from something even more restricted. It’s something that passes from generation to generation, but the internet has brought a lot of dialogue, opened many people’s minds, and changed many things for the better in the scene.
In terms of being less prejudiced, of wanting to punish others because they don't like the same type of music, or of not respecting an artist because they play a different kind of music, because they sing cleanly, or because they play clean guitar, because they're not as heavy, because they're not extreme, things like that… So, we've always brought many elements to Nervosa, actually. We brought those things, but from Perpetual Chaos onwards we started to open ourselves up to other styles besides thrash metal, while maintaining our roots. And this new album is no different. It's a very brutal Nervosa album, but at the same time it brings a melody that we've never brought before. It brings things that will surprise you.
WM: Is there any market that you haven't yet reached, but that is in your plans?
PA: My dream, I think currently, would be to play in Africa. We've never played in Africa. I, with Nervosa, did the math and we've played in more than 60 countries. It was 62, if I'm not mistaken. And this year we played in China for the first time. It's very difficult, very few bands have gone there, it's a more closed market, it's starting to open up now. And I really wanted to get to know Africa because it's a territory that isn't talked about much and there's a scene there. I know bands, including all-female bands in Africa, from other places, and I have this desire to explore these unknown territories.
Celebrating 15 years of Nervosa
WM: The band is going to do a show celebrating 15 years of history. How important is this show to you?
PA: When I started Nervosa… It feels like it was yesterday. It doesn't seem like 15 years. It's crazy how fast time flies. And I realized it was going to be 15 years at the end of last year, and I thought, 'we have to do something special'. And I was very happy that we managed to do the first show of the 15th-anniversary tour in São Paulo. I was trying to make it happen, and it was kind of a coincidence along with a little push, let's say. I said, 'it would be really cool if we could end in São Paulo too'. But it just stayed like that, I just put it out into the universe.
And it happened. So, we ended up doing a show in Japan, we did five shows in Tokyo. We had to do five different setlists, it takes a lot of creativity. Having five different setlists. So, I thought, 'we're on a 15th anniversary tour of Nervosa, let's tell the band's story and do a more or less chronological setlist, something like that.' We did it, but it was very improvised. But it worked out well. And then, it worked out that we did the last show of this year and the last show of the tour in São Paulo. I said, 'let's do this show, but more elaborate'.
We're going to study more carefully what we're going to do, what we're going to say… And we've built this up; we're going to play in a theater, at Sesc Bom Retiro, everyone's seated, so it makes a lot of sense to do this kind of format. So the crowd won't be able to get too excited, which is a shame, but I'll be there too so we can play the songs, do a Nervosa revival, and tell the story as well. There are several things I've never told, like how we recorded, how we even recorded an album in the United States, so there are several little things I'll try to bring that are new information, maybe, that the fans have never heard. It's going to be that, a show with stand-up, but not comedy.
WM: In the press conference you talked a little about the Nervosa's 15th anniversary show. Did you ever consider inviting former members to the celebration?
PA: For sure, I would invite them all actually, but I think we're still a very new band, only 15 years old, I think it's too early for that. But I really want to do something like that in a few years, I think it would make more sense.
Now it's a 15th-anniversary celebration, just so it doesn't go unnoticed. Because 15 years have passed very quickly, there are many stories, and I thought it would be nice to bring some details, to tell the story of the band, so much so that we're going to do the show tomorrow at Sesc, and it will be telling the story, just like we did at the show in Japan. We're going to do it here too, and I think it's a cool thing to do.
But I think it's not the right time to bring everyone yet. It's a much bigger logistical undertaking, bringing everyone together, because Nervosa has members all over the world, so it's going to be quite complicated to coordinate everyone's schedules. They're all very active, with many bands, many projects, everyone on tour. And it would be kind of a shame to bring some and not others. So that's something for later.
Nervosa defined in two songs
WM: In these 15 years of the band, which song best defines Nervosa?
PA: I can't choose one song to define Nervosa, because Nervosa has several phases. If I choose a current song, I'll be doing an injustice to Nervosa's history in the past. So I can choose a song for each phase of Nervosa.
If we're going to talk about the period when Fernanda [ Lira ] was the vocalist, I would choose "Kill The Silence" because of its meaning. It's a song I wrote thinking about supporting women primarily, but also anyone who has suffered any kind of abuse, whether psychological or physical, so they aren't afraid to talk about it. I think this song has historical importance for the band and even for the other girls, other people who always come to me and say: "This song saved my life, this song helped me." So it's a very important thing.
Now, the current Nervosa song, I'd say it's "Jailbreak" as the song of Nervosa's current phase because it was also a song we created for the metalhead, the headbanger, the person who likes metal, rock, because many times society suffocates us. It tells us not to wear a band t-shirt to work, you have to conform and you hide. It's like you have to wear a costume to go to your job. But you have to be proud of who you are. It's society that has to lose its prejudice. We have to fight against that. So, the song "Jailbreak"... We like angry music, but we use it in a positive way. I think that meaning is also really cool.
WM: What are your top 3 albums released in 2025, or a concert or artist that caught your attention this year?
PA: Ah, I'm a bit out of the loop. This year was so hectic. We did 5 tours in 6 months. It was an absurd rush. And I didn't have much time to listen to music. Because since we work with music all day, when I have time, the last thing I do is listen to music. I start listening to music again when we have our vacations. For example, now at the end of the year, we come to Brazil, December, January, I stay home more, try to rest, and start listening to music again. But imagine, we do soundchecks, watch bands, spend the whole day with extremely loud music. You even need to rest your ears, so…
WM: But are there any bands whose shows you saw, that you discovered this year and liked?
PA : Oh, there are several! For example, we recently toured with Testament , Obituary , and Destruction . And they are all legendary bands. And the experience was sensational. Everyone delivered an incredible show with great sound quality and good music. Testament just released an album. The album came out while we were on tour with them. And it's wonderful to see artists reinventing themselves, thinking outside the box, which is the case, for example, with Testament, which is one of my favorite bands, they're in my top 5 favorite bands. And it was an incredible experience.
Regarding new bands, I've been following Brat , which was even mentioned here today. I think they're very interesting, very cool. They bring a new energy, something different. The vocalist, Natalie Miller, I think she's incredible. Both in her singing, in her performance, in not being ashamed of who she is. That's wonderful.
READ ALSO: Fernanda Lira comments on her relationship with Nervosa: "There is no resentment whatsoever"
