If TRAGEDY’s 2002 masterpiece, Vengeance, can be considered the band’s main course in their discography, Nerve Damage serves as a delectible dessert. I really can’t bring myself to hail anything this band has done as superior to Vengeance. Even so, Nerve Damage leaves enough scar tissue in its wake to get the blood pumping during this burly thirty-two minute extravaganza.. Largely, TRAGEDY are the innovators of this crusty, doom-laden, thrash genre. Nerve Damage is just the latest reitteration of that fact. The songs are fast, the guitars bellow, and the vocals come from the darkest depths of the human anatomy. Arguably the best track on this is “Force Of Law” with an awesome display of vocal tradeoffs and agile tempo changes. Similarly, I found myself continuously coming back to the lyrics of that song. I was gripped by lines like “Kept in line for years and years/ Patience, obedience, clenching fists/ the force of law, the defeating of all life/ the defeating of all life, defeat, defeat/ the Pressure’s mounting, shown in our vacant eyes/ hardened by never ending stares and obstacles.” That song plows through the chest of the listener leaving only rubble in its path. The disgusted mood is a perfect fit in relation to the music. Every aspect of this band gives the listener a very unapologetic option of “take it or leave it”. That’s probably the most attractive quality in my eyes. This is not pretty music. Nothing TRAGEDY does on this record comes as a surprise if you’re a well-versed fan. Anyone unfamiliar with the band might be better off starting with Vengeance but Nerve Damage is essential if you have any intentions of truly getting acquainted with what this band is all about.

Tragedy