Nuclear Assault
The Plague

When it comes to hard-hitting, no-frills music, when you feel like making a racket, when the motto is to go wild in the name of "good friendly violent fun," few bands can rival Nuclear Assault. After releasing "Game Over," amidst concerts and churning out an album a year on average, these dirty punk-metalheads even found time in '87 to record the EP "The Plague," a handful of songs each badass and fun in its own right.

The style of this mini-album is roughly that of their debut, a direct and relentless thrash heavily influenced by hardcore that places them, alongside bands like DRI and Suicidal Tendencies (of whom Lilker and company were big fans), on the punkier fringe of American metal in the eighties. Metal influences are perhaps more present here than in "Game Over", but this doesn't make the songs any less infectious in their immediacy, focusing entirely on impact and speed.

The EP opens with Game Over, an instrumental intro in perfect Nuclear Assault style (see Live, Suffer, Die) with Danny Lilker's sharp bass at the forefront. Nightmares and Cross Of Iron offer the usual, highly effective blend of heavy and punk, with an added dash of darkness. Excellent as always is John Connelly's piercing and hoarse voice, which adds a lot to the songs in terms of energy and originality. The title track represents the album's most reflective moment, as well as the most classic metal (in the harmonic progressions and chorus, echoes of Judas Priest can even be heard), while the brash hardcore vigor emerges especially in two tracks, Butt Fuck and Justice. The latter is based on a searing riff, perfect for the mosh pit, with a punch that can make many of today's bands pale in comparison and a forceful chorus (simply "In this world there's no justice") designed to be shouted out loud with the audience. In the verses, more "metallic" sounds make an appearance, particularly in the work of the Connelly-Bramante duo, balancing between classic palm-muted accompaniment and some scales between verses. Butt Fuck is the strangest track on the EP, where the band's playful and carefree nature concentrates; a vein expressed both in the lyrics ("you figure it out," says the booklet) and in the music, which joyfully mixes a slow blues (!) with whirlwind thrashcore accelerations driven by a Glen Evans in "free rein" mode.

Just a handful of songs, then, but all well-structured and imaginative. Mention was made above of the playful, chaotic spirit of Nuclear Assault, but in fairness, their more "committed" lyrics, with strong social denunciation, should not be forgotten either. However, despite sometimes scabrous and controversial themes addressed with a good measure of irreverence (how can we forget the legendary, indomitable, reckless Hang The Pope?), the style of Nuclear Assault, especially in the early releases, remains today among the most immediate and entertaining in the world of thrash. Highly recommended is the purchase of the "Game Over/The Plague" CD, which also includes some songs played live in '89.