Throughout their nearly decade long career, Skinlab rarely seem to have gotten a fair break. Whether it be due to their continuous line-up problems, lack of big tours, or just plain being overlooked for in favor of some of the Bay Area's bigger names, the group have yet to hit the level of recognition many of their peers quickly achieved. In fact, it appears as though this situation was even one of the main catalysts behind their last album, 2002's "reVoltingRoom", as it saw their sound angle in a decidedly mainstream friendly direction. Although having originally announced in the summer of last year that they planned to enter a hiatus, the group were soon met with a few welcome opportunities, which instead saw them keep active. So much so that they have plans to release a new album later this year, though they have yet again undergone some line-up changes, with both drummer Paul Hopkins and guitarist Scott Sergeant recently exiting the fold.

Still, despite their rotating door for musicians and having never really achieved commercial success, the band have still left a considerable mark. This is basically where "Nerve Damage" comes in, as it is in essence a collection of odds and ends, if not also an anthology of things the band left behind tucked aside for a rainy day. Spearheaded by two new tracks ("Losing All", "Beneath The Surface"), this 2 CD set features nearly everything considered remotely rare from the band, including their entire "Eyesore" and "Suffer" EP's, various demos, live tracks and covers. Also present are alternate mixes, radio edits and even an acoustic track, making for a pretty comprehensive outing overall.

Listening to the set one can easily see just how far the band have progressed since their humble beginnings, especially when listening to the early demos. Their ferocious brand of chugging Bay Area metal was actually quite primal and simplistic in the beginning, slowly evolving into something far more polished and flowing over the years. Though not ordered chronologically, the CD's still manage to create a fairly solid flow which pretty much shows off everything the band have had collecting dust in their closet over the last 7 or so years. There's even a video for their new track "Losing All" included as a multimedia portion and a short collection of promo photos in the album booklet which document the various looks and line-ups of the band by each release. As such this is pretty much the definitive treat for any Skinlab fan, though it is likely too scatterbrained and coarse for anyone else.