ALBUM REVIEW: A Resting Place for The Wrathful – Twitch of The Death Nerve

For anyone who is a fan of nasty, horrible noise, there are few bands that do it better than TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. Their frankly hideous noise is akin to literally listening to maggots eating a rotting corpse at times, the London crew have been far removed from the live music scene since their formation In 2008. Having still released and put out album releases, their latest release A Resting Place for The Wrathful not only represents the band proving themselves to be more than capable of writing hideously intense music but also asserted them as a live act once again. That is, until the quarantine happened.

There are few better ways to start a brutal death metal record than with raw and gurgling vocals, and that is precisely how the title track of this record starts. As frantic riffing then erupts and the and begin to show their pedigree, it becomes clear that this is a morbidly brilliant combination of DEVOURMENT and CATTLE DECAPITATION. The speed and grinding intensity are amongst some of the best this year has seen so far, and will likely see overall. Ochlocratic Prostration squirms and writhes with fury as the constant pummelling from the watertight rhythm section provides a fantastic bedrock for the vocals to flourish and impress with their grossness.

Where TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE really excel is in finding the middle ground between complete saturation of sound and the clarity required to elevate music such as this. Where DEVOURMENT made their mark last year by releasing comfortably the most extreme metal album of the decade, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE trade that constant intensity for some level of dynamic range. Apotrophic Scarification slowly swells before crushing the listener under a barrage of riffs and crushing breakdowns and slams. The only issue with the clarity and depth TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE possess is the truly flooring guitar tone most bands currently boast. Whether it be the HM2 throwbacks of TOMB MOLD or the generally thick, compressed noise most modern brutal death and deathcore bands play with nowadays. The sound here sits comfortably in the mid-range, and the bassline pierces through the mix like a knife through a body.

With 8 songs making up the record, A Resting Place for The Wrathful refuses to out stay its welcome and is gone as quickly as it arrives. Whilst moments like the disturbing A Witness To Ruination provide moments of calm and recovery, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE provide an absolute masterclass of savagery throughout this record. Considering the trio of members have enough experience between them to write a book, it should come as no surprise that this is probably one of the nastiest records, you’ll hear all year.

Rating: 8/10

A Resting Place for the Wrathful is out now via Comatose Music. 

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