Struck A Nerve may be a new band in the UK thrash scene but considering that three of their four members have been involved with Shrapnel at different points it makes sense that the material that makes up their self-titled debut is more potent and fully formed than most newcomers. Where Shrapnel veered off towards groove metal and metalcore on last year’s In Gravity, Struck A Nerve opts for heavy hitting and in your face old-school thrash with some jumps into crossover territory. It’s a short burst that does a great job of capturing the essence of what made classic thrash so potent but also shakes things up in ways that prevent the album from feeling like another mere retread.
It's clear from opener “Nocturnal Terror” exactly how aggressive and fast Struck A Nerve can play, as the instrumentation comes roaring in with a concise attack. The sound here is definitely familiar, pulling in the types of high flying, fast paced riffing and mid-tempo breaks that keep the intensity at a high all the way through, but things are delivered with a precision and polish that makes a great initial impression. As you make your way further in the songs tend to keep things on the compact side, leaving room for a solo or unexpected transition but not overstretching to the point of repetition. Sometimes the writing skews pure 80s thrash while other moments bring in some more of that crossover sound, and the band does a great job of shaking up when they fall into crossover territory. But where Struck A Nerve stood out for me compared to the average genre newcomer was in the subtler details, such as the cleaner heavy metal guitars on the title track, the moodier melodies on “Inside the Torture Fortress”, or the almost death metal tone of “The Knife Scrapes the Bone”. Some of these moments go by pretty quickly, but they really made a difference on repeat listens. Struck A Nerve also chooses to end things with a slightly slower and groove-laden track in the form of “Leviathan Wings” which smartly lets some of the melodies expand outwards. Given some thrash group’s tendency to overdo these slower and softer moments, saving it for the end works well here and really enhances the overall package.
Aarran Tucker was Shrapnel’s vocalist for their 2020 album Palace for the Insane, and he’s brought a similar intensity to Struck A Nerve. Like the instrumentation, the vocals find this sweet spot between traditional and crossover thrash, with the performance coming in between harsher screams and cleaner yells that have more of that crossover feel. But there are some other pitches thrown into the mix on specific songs, including some sung sections on “Inside the Torture Fortress”, death metal growls at the end of “Raining Death”, and some heavy metal falsettos on “Parade of Violence”. Some of these are so quick that it might take a few times through to fully hear them in action, but it gives the material some additional variety and is something I’d like to see Struck A Nerve continue to utilize as they move forward.
There isn’t quite as much new thrash that excites me in the same way as other genres of metal, but Struck A Nerve is one of those bands that immediately reignited that interest as soon as I pressed play. They’re trying to get back to the core fire and grit of thrash and crossover thrash, which makes sense considering the shifting musical identify of Shrapnel, and if you like your thrash fast and full of killer riffs this is a must listen. In many ways their debut reminds me of the same type of energy UK acts like Evile and SSS had in the mid-2000s, and I’d love to see them ride a similar wave of resurgence as we continue through the 2020’s. Struck A Nerve is available from Listenable Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg