Of course, every mass destruction needs a harbinger. And for Planetoid, that role was filled admirably by Neurological Damage (and, from what I could gather, Hydronaut, but they were already well into their last song by the time I arrived at the show – sorry ‘bout that, fellas). In returning to our little chat about gimmicks, ND doesn’t go as far as Planetoid in this regard, but what they lack in face paint and bright white suits, they more than make up for in showmanship – and show-off-manship! Simply put, the three dudes in Neurological Damage can flat-out shred, and they want everyone to know about it. They will tell you this to your face, and they will show you on the stage. Rusty McStix loves to go from zero to sixty and back to zero, and then back to sixty, and back to zero (and so on) all within a double-bass pummeling that lasts, maybe, three seconds (let’s see a Ferrari Enzo do that!). Billy D. Williams (or “the White Lando,” as I like to call him) plays his tap-happy guitar solos with his teeth, behind his head and – one of these days – with his toes. And with a bass in his hands, Capt. Dusty produces a sound that falls somewhere between a tommy gun hosedown and the revving of a Harley Davidson.

The Harper’s Ferry show was a kind of experiment for ND, who played the entire set with Vic Foresta on vocals for the first time. Foresta, the full-time frontman for funk renegades the Force (which used to include Dusty on bass), has been a fixture at recent ND shows, but typically joins the band only for a few songs per set. On this night, however, ND fans got a full dose of Foresta’s zany little-kid-who-just-drank-a-litre-of-Jolt-cola energy (and his equally hyperactive hairdo). Now, I’ll admit, I always had a certain fondness for Dusty and Billy’s guttural trade-off act on vocals (especially on the infectious anti-love letter, Space Kitty, and the band’s eponymously titled funk metal anthem), but having Vic in there for a whole set certainly frees up the Cap’n and White Lando to focus, exclusively, on doing what they do best. His persona is an ideal match for Neurological Damage, which takes the oddball precision of Primus and serves it up with the bong shop irreverence of Faith No More and the cowboy cockiness of Van Halen.

I did make it to the Middle East just in time to see Neurological Damage take the stage and shred out an insane, though somewhat disorganized, display of rock. ND throws in equal parts speed metal, grunge, and straight-up rock and roll, topped off with a little bit of funk that only Captain Dusty’s furious slap-bass can provide. Their incredible instrumentation makes up for somewhat shaky vocals - if they were to add a lead singer with a memorable voice and the stage presence to match the other members I could see these guys exploding on the Boston scene. Their music is intricate and detailed, featuring Primus-esque bass riffs overlayed with thrash metal solos, meaty basslines with wah pedal hooks, and sometimes synchronized shredding between the bass and the guitar. ND puts on an incredibly entertaining performance, be it guitarist Billy D ripping solos behind his head, bassist Captain Dusty slamming his fingers up and down the fretboard of his bass, or drummer Rusty McStix getting frantic and explosive with the double bass. Neurological Damage has a few shows coming up on the North Shore, but they’ll be back in Boston on July 31st up at O’Briens in Allston.