Nerve End are a band from Finland who quite definitely, and defiantly, fall within the progressive metal bracket. They have released their debut album, The Cycle (although they have released EPs) and kindly sent a copy for this website to review. They have been about for a wee while and appear to have played some pretty decent sized gigs and are, at present, unsigned following the collapse of a major record deal pre-pandemic – I would be astounded if that remained the case by the time they get to releasing their second album, because there is a clear demand for good quality Scandinavian rock music, and this album can most certainly be categorised as such. Anybody who enjoys throbbing metal mixed with some seriously good melodies will find much to enjoy here.
There is a concept in The Cycle, and that is one of trying to understand and explain the complexities of this world through art. It is another album born from the extraordinarily strange pandemic days which necessitated changes in how acts wrote and recorded. The band have been through quite a struggle in their journey to get to this point, and one can only admire their fortitude. You can buy the album from the band’s Bandcamp page at https://nerveend.bandcamp.com/album/the-cycle I will embed a couple of tracks here as a taster.
They are Joonas Kaselius on vocals & guitar, Lauri Mäntynen on keys & guitars, Olli Paajanen on bass guitar, and Janne Mieskonen on drums. They are joined by very impressive guest musicians, including Jørgen Munkeby on sax and Aleksi Sihvonen on vocals on Absolution.
So, to the music. We open with the title track, which is very interesting lyrically, almost Buddhist in its philosophy regarding the pain of life, but not being controlled by this pain and the certainty of rebirth. The opening passage has some very thoughtfully subdued keyboards by Mäntynen which give little clue as to the crashing riffs which introduce the band as a whole a minute in – those riffs are thundering, and the contrast in mood is very impressive. This band can play – that is obvious from the word go – the band’s video is embedded below – enjoy, especially the Death Grows Inside Me passage which has wonderful drums leading the more subdued guitars before the louder riffs reassert themselves, but with soaring keyboards above the maelstrom throughout.
Stormchaser follows, but rather than discussing the tempests of climate change, this track deals more with the storms raging inside us as human beings and breaking cycles to see better futures. The opening is frenetic with some sharp riffs but following the initial burst, the band again demonstrate that they can change the tempo very cleverly. In the quieter passages, I do notice some very subtle, and good, percussion by Mieskonen, and once more the keyboards provide for the soaring counterpoint to the riffs. There is a strong guitar solo just over two minutes in, technically proficient and ending with dramatic effect breaking the cycle. Good stuff.
The Great Escape is the title of the track which virtually every Marillion fan would name as being in at least their top three. The Nerve End one is markedly different both musically and lyrically, dealing as it does with cosmology theory and its impact upon our “soul”, for want of a better word. The track features the deeply impressive Munkeby on sax and he and the band in parts bring a very effective jazz fusion sensibility to the riffs, and very good it is, too. The midway point brings a crazy dystopian burst before a short calm interlude heralds the best mad sax I have heard since seeing Mel Collins with Crimson. As this passes, the track concludes fusing blues and searingly heavy metal.
From Mother to Son is embedded below. It is a dark track and reminds me of my own (complex) relationship with my late mother – at the end of the day, we are the sum part of our parents and their forebears, so much of our personality is almost pre-destined. When the opening hard passage closes, there is a delightful segment with fine guitar solos. The last verse is very good as the music slows to a rumble and the vocals talk of the mould being set before the scream of “abuse will unfold” and we close with a heavy symphonic keyboard-led delight. This is a very good piece of music which I have listened to repeatedly over the past couple of weeks, loving that bleak piano at the end.
There then follows one of those relatively common complaints here in Lazland – namely, yet another contender for the 2023 award “Why the Hell Was This Track Not Longer?”. This is probably a little bit unfair when addressing Stalemate, which I have embedded below, as it does lead naturally into Deep Blue, but I wanted more of this – much more, because it is beautiful. The acoustic guitars, orchestral synths, and percussion, this is a symphonic delight and up there with the best I have heard this year – very moving and far too short.
Having said that, as it segues into Deep Blue, I really enjoy this tale of the victory of the eponymous machine over Garry Kasparov, and this song lyrically is very much in our minds in 2023, because the latest mass media villain is the rise of AI, which, depending upon who you read, will either cure us of all ills, kill us all, or, failing that, simply enslave us. We always fear what we don’t understand. The track is suitably dystopian, although this author has never been a particular fan of Opeth-type growls in his music. That quibble over, the sung vocals tell the story well and halfway in there is a very delicate passage which is very strongly influenced by 70’s classic prog and is very good.
The Big Sleep follows. This is a very strong piece of music, and a favourite of mine from the album. The band bring to the table their commercial sense. This piece about fighting the monsters within us which manifest themselves at night cries out for a wide rock radio audience. Tuneful, mournful, a great guitar solo, and simply wonderfully executed – it is embedded below.
Absolution follows, the lyrics for which are deeply personal and speak to me of an event or experiences within Kaselius’ life which needed exposing in a cathartic manner. The vocals at the start are screamed at us, and there is a blazing intensity for the first two minutes before a calm wash over proceedings and we get a very lovely guitar set of notes before the riffs crash back with a vengeance. There is a huge amount of anger within this piece of music but also melodic and mournful moments which speak of release.
The penultimate track is Children of the Sun. I think this is a take on the disgraceful invasion of Ukraine by Putin, and all of us will empathise with the lyrics which state waging war with someone you should love is crime against us all. There is a delicious bassline to open before the band riff into proceedings, but at its heart, this is a very melodically sad piece of music, delicately sung with Paajanen’s bass at the heart of it all and with a gorgeous expansive segment which seamlessly mixes influences such as Genesis & Asia in a lovely minute of music. A very good track and worth the entrance price on its own.
We close with Ashes to Ashes, the longest piece here at just short of seven minutes long. I think this is as close to the likes of Riverside & earlier Porcupine Tree as the band get, and I really enjoy it. There is a sense of the dramatic and the insular all at once. The keyboard work five minutes in is fantastic and perhaps could have delighted us for a wee bit longer, but this is an impressive way to close the album. The track returns to the theme of the opener with eternal transformation and transition and the vocal harmonies at the end personify this nicely.
Listening to this album, it is easy to see why and how Nerve End have built up a loyal fanbase and I genuinely think that with a positive record deal and decent promotion, there is a long future in front of them. Good stuff and recommended.