Nerve War
Encyclopedia
Nerve War is the first release by the Canadian band Front Line Assembly
(known as Frontline Assembly at the time). Having a limited cassette release (between 50 and 100), it remains the most sought after release from Bill Leeb and company. The songs on the tape sound more abrasive and industrial
than Leeb's more recent output which leans more toward an EBM
style. It has never been officially released after Front Line Assembly became more popular (supposedly the master tapes were lost), however, the MP3
s have been floating around the internet since about 2002.
There are three different versions of Nerve War, with varying track listings, lengths, and titles. The original release included a song entitled "Thy Glory", which was removed from subsequent releases at the insistence of cEvin Key
of Skinny Puppy
, due to the usage of a bass line from his Tear Garden song. "The Steal" and "Cold As Ice" were also removed for reasons unknown, replaced with two untitled tracks. On a third version of Nerve War, "Thy Glory" reappears, along with new tracks "View To Kill", "To The World", and "Holy War I", and "Holy War II".
insisted that "Thy Glory" be removed from the tape.
magazine, New Life, Bill Leeb presented the interviewer with a press briefcase that included a promo-tape. The tracklisting was incomplete and only listed seven of the 14 tracks that were on the promo-tape. Four of those listed songs were identified by either other releases or future releases. The two of the remaining tracks ("View To Kill" and "To The World") could be any of the Untitled tracks, and "As Of You" was not included on the promo-tape. The rest of the tape was made up of songs from the other Nerve War versions and other previously unreleased songs, some of which reappeared on future compilations.
Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...
(known as Frontline Assembly at the time). Having a limited cassette release (between 50 and 100), it remains the most sought after release from Bill Leeb and company. The songs on the tape sound more abrasive and industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
than Leeb's more recent output which leans more toward an EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
style. It has never been officially released after Front Line Assembly became more popular (supposedly the master tapes were lost), however, the MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s have been floating around the internet since about 2002.
There are three different versions of Nerve War, with varying track listings, lengths, and titles. The original release included a song entitled "Thy Glory", which was removed from subsequent releases at the insistence of cEvin Key
CEvin Key
cEvin Key is the pseudonym of Kevin William Crompton , who was a founding member of the industrial music band Skinny Puppy, along with Nivek Ogre. In addition to his work with Skinny Puppy, cEvin Key has had several side projects, including Doubting Thomas, Cyberaktif, and Hilt...
of Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
, due to the usage of a bass line from his Tear Garden song. "The Steal" and "Cold As Ice" were also removed for reasons unknown, replaced with two untitled tracks. On a third version of Nerve War, "Thy Glory" reappears, along with new tracks "View To Kill", "To The World", and "Holy War I", and "Holy War II".
Track listing
Three different versions of Nerve War were released. Each version had a different ordering and songs unique to their version. The track lengths may also vary between copies since the original tapes were digitized.Version 1 (Original)
Version 2
This version of the tape was created after cEvin KeyCEvin Key
cEvin Key is the pseudonym of Kevin William Crompton , who was a founding member of the industrial music band Skinny Puppy, along with Nivek Ogre. In addition to his work with Skinny Puppy, cEvin Key has had several side projects, including Doubting Thomas, Cyberaktif, and Hilt...
insisted that "Thy Glory" be removed from the tape.
Version 3 ("promo-tape")
During an interview with the Depeche Mode Fan ClubDepeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
magazine, New Life, Bill Leeb presented the interviewer with a press briefcase that included a promo-tape. The tracklisting was incomplete and only listed seven of the 14 tracks that were on the promo-tape. Four of those listed songs were identified by either other releases or future releases. The two of the remaining tracks ("View To Kill" and "To The World") could be any of the Untitled tracks, and "As Of You" was not included on the promo-tape. The rest of the tape was made up of songs from the other Nerve War versions and other previously unreleased songs, some of which reappeared on future compilations.