Nervewrecker - S/T EP

This weekend just gone hasn't been very productive on my part. I'm not sorry though. as part of the weekend was spent at Yorkshire Riffer 2, sheltering from the rain in Leeds watching some great bands. Clentsch and Envoys were especially good. Check them out if you're ever in Leeds and they're playing.

Back on it this evening, at least while I can tear myself away from Footie Manager 15! This relief comes from Norwich metal/doom band Nervewrecker, who got in touch with me through the blog about their self-titled EP. They started playing heavy music as a band last year and this is their debut EP. For such a new band, they've managed to play a fair few gigs, including support slots for the likes of Bent Life, Napolean and Vales.

Tracklist:-

1. Intro
2. Stoic
3. Plague Ridden
4. Excerpts Of Lies
5. Empty Vessels
6. Sea Of Trees

The Intro to Nervewrecker’s debut EP is a building wall of guitar feedback that sounds like a jet engine firing up. That’s pretty ominous! Stoic is the first proper song on the EP and is full of equally big riffs. There are dual-vocals, drums that sit high in the mix and rumbling bass. Each instrument is clear, thanks too the mixing job and the mastering, which was done at Audiosiege (it seems like the go-to place now). 

Plague Ridden is a briefer affair but it makes up for that is power. There’s hardcore blood running through this EP, but it’s subtle and it’s the tempo of the song where it’s clearest. Nervewrecker follow the well-trodden path that’s been forged by a lot of UK bands over the last couple years, but that’s not to say that they don’t bring anything new to the table. The single guitar approach on the EP works really well and sounds every bit as heavy on Excerpts of Lies, as it would if two were present. There’s also some surprisingly brief grind exploits woven in for good measure.

As the EP progresses, it gets heavier and more and more influences are noticeable. Metal plays a big part in Empty Vessels. The dual-vocals from earlier on are not as immediate but there’s plenty of groove in their place. EP closer Sea Of Trees is the most batshit mental song and it’s left to end, which is more reason to listen to the whole thing through. It captures elements of grind, hardcore and everything in between and spits it out in the form of something pretty damn nice. It shows the assured nature of Nervewrecker and their song-writing. 

I watched the MTV EMA’s last night and couldn’t believe how crap both it and mainstream music is at the moment. All we need is for more bands like Nervewrecker to come to the fore and we can banish that horrendous drivel for good! I’m not saying that it’ll take over the mainstream, but at least it offers people a more than valid and artistically pleasing alternative to what “they” say we should be listening to. 

Stream it all here:-



Nervewrecker Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Nervewreckeruk