Nuclear Assault
Live At The Hammersmith Odeon

THE REVIEW

April 10, 1989. A historic day for Nuclear Assault.

It is rather rare for a band, not exactly famous, though appreciated, serious, and coherent towards itself like Nuclear Assault, to have the opportunity to perform as a headliner on a prestigious stage like that of the Hammersmith Odeon in New York. All the greatest legends of Hard n' Heavy have graced that stage; Motörhead, to name one. And that day it was the turn of J. Connelly's band, who was experiencing its peak in popularity and acclaim from audiences and critics following the release of their masterpiece "Handle With Care". Riding the wave of Thrash Metal that still raged at the end of the '80s, with a considerable following, the band carved out its small slice of immortality with that live performance worthy of a record.

All the enthusiasm and euphoria of a group that knows it has reached the pinnacle of its potential are encapsulated and preserved in this CD, all of their most trashy punk attitude, their spirit of social protest, their not negligible technical ability: listening to it puts you face to face with a true wave of healthy musical violence, the kind that true '80s thrashers knew how to practice so well. However, the album does not deserve the highest marks, due to the occasionally mediocre, sometimes poor recording. And it's undeniable that it can be more appreciated by fans of the genre rather than those with less metallic tastes; certainly, it's not the album to approach Heavy Metal.

The concert opens with "Intro / The New Song", drawn from the newly released album; the sharp guitars immediately warm up the atmosphere with a fast track, traversed and made ferocious by Connelly's screams, embellished by his solos. Glenn Evans' pounding drums provide the perfect backdrop for a song that is a real battle horse. Note the similarity/plagiarism of the beginning of the track with "Overkill" (I) by Overkill, other historic New York thrashers. Then, the group immediately plays the (then) new card "Critical Mass", another compelling thrash track endowed with a monolithic riff. One of their best pieces, an ecologist-themed protest, performed flawlessly. It is followed by the instrumental "Game Over", revived from the eponymous debut, played again without flaws, which connects seamlessly, as if to give no respite to the furious fans, to "Nightmares". A technical and fast piece, one cannot help but be involved by the razor-sharp rhythms and the vitriolic solo by the frontman. The pace slows with the start of "B.F.", deviating from the previous ones due to greater compositional variety: a mannered, slow, theatrical intro, vaguely reminiscent of Pantera, then followed by verses of rapid and garbled speed, almost punk, preceding a wonderful solo on a blues base, and a chaotic, ultra-fast finale. You read that right: blues. Unmissable.

The concert setlist continues with the energetic performance of classics such as "Survive", "Torture Tactics", played flawlessly and chaotic just right, the dark and profound "Trail of Tears", then degenerating with 3 tracks that definitely cannot be defined as "songs". These are "Mother's Day", 40 seconds of a haunting, grotesque homage to Connelly's mother; "My America", thirty seconds of punk outburst framed by a catchy drum beat; "Hang The Pope", an anti-clerical anthem spiced with Dan Lilker's bass virtuosity, for which fans will remember and love them. What headbanger can not get fired up at the shout of "Hang the Pope"?

Another filler is "Lesbians", about a minute long, which speaks for itself. The prelude to the grand finale of the live show is "Funky Noise", a dynamic and fun instrumental; the ideal intro for the cover of Led Zeppelin I "Good Times Bad Times". I am almost certain that a good part of Zeppelin's admirers (myself included) get chills to hear this '70s gem being assaulted by punk/thrash, but overall it can be said that it could have been more disfigured. I would add that the aforementioned distortion is almost certainly intentional and not at all antagonistic towards the English band.

With this live show, you could cut iron. 100% True Thrash Metal. Essential for fans of U.S.A.-made Heavy Metal.