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Song

Hard Hard Winter

Artist

The Bloody Nerve

The Bloody Nerve backstory

A decade down the line and The Bloody Nerve continue to push the boundaries and question the norm with episodic concept album All Blood, No Treasure.

Formed in 2013 around the core duo of Stacey Blood and Laurie Ann Layne, the band dropped debut long player Taste two years later.

A Taste of things to come? Not quite.

The Bloody Nerve is on a mission to evolve and in 10 years they’ve successfully kissed those formative years goodbye.

Incredibly, it’s almost two years since What’s It Say? (About You), the immersive second ‘episode’ of All Blood, No Treasure, wowed the Rushonrock team.

But Hard Hard Winter — episode seven — is a worthy successor as the band’s latest Red Hot Track Of The Week.

Heralding All Blood, No Treasure’s third act, it’s a synth-laden deep dive into a pretty dark place.

And it hints at a dramatic denouement to the album’s gripping narrative.

In Stacey Blood’s own words

“It’s hard to know what is good until you know what is bad.

“Like, really bad.  How bad can it get?  

“Most people don’t explore that. Act III takes us into the back corner of the basement.

“But it’s not just dejection. It’s horror.  It’s a controlled demolition.

“Episode 7 really deals with being decoupled from familiarity and what was once reality.

“It’s the downward spiral that just keeps going.  

“It gets colder and colder and so far gone that we finally accept that the only way out of the situation is through it.

“No going back.”

The verdict on Hard Hard Winter

Emboldened by the acquisition of game-changing new gear, The Bloody Nerve has never sounded more brooding and brilliant.

A scorching synth-heavy intro adds a gothic twist to the band’s trademark growl.

But Hard Hard Winter swiftly morphs into a heavy blues banger replete with Zeppelin-esque mid-section.

The Bloody Nerve might have ushered in All Blood, No Treasure’s compelling concept on the back of punk-fuelled, garage rock energy.

But a band that’s never stood still is surely at its most ambitious on the seventh instalment of a modern-day masterwork.

Laurie Ann Layne’s visceral vocal never lets up on a track that dares to be different.

And the steepling lead track from All Blood, No Treasure’s hotly anticipated third act doesn’t disappoint.

What’s next for The Bloody Nerve

Hard Hard Winter will be released via all digital platforms on March 17 — with a full video premiered on the same day.

The remaining episodes of All Blood, No Treasure’s third act are set to drop later this year.

A three-track standalone CD will complete the release cycle.