Kingcrimsonprog
Nuclear Assault’s fourth full length studio album Out Of Order saw the band take a slight change of pace; as the 1980s ended it seemed that most thrash bands decided they couldn’t continue the way they were going.
Out Of Order was released in 1991 and saw the classic line-up of band experiment with slower tempos and songwriting styles which they hadn’t tried before for their last album together, which had mixed results and a mixed critical reaction at the time. The album even contains a cover version of Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz.
The band don’t much support this album live anymore, preferring to concentrate on earlier material and many fans would say that this album and even more so, the album which followed aren’t up to the same high standards as their older albums like Game Over and Survive. Additionally; the album doesn’t contain any comedy moments and doesn’t contain any brief extreme hardcore punk tracks, both of which had been at least part of the band’s appeal.
Despite this, the album is not devoid of merit by any means. While it may not be as fast as Handle With Care or as perfectly formed as Survive, Out Of Order still has a few very good songs on it and is certainly of some interest to Nuclear Assault fans. Don’t think of it as a complete write-off to be ignored, just that it couldn’t live up to the high quality of the albums which came before.
Highlights include the speedy and classic sounding ‘Quocustodiat,’ and the bouncy ‘Sign In Blood,’ as well as the brilliant ten-minute instrumental ‘Save The Planet,’ which should please any serious fan of the band.
Overall; Out Of Order isn’t the band’s greatest work but still has enough merit to warrant a few curiosity listens at a minimum. There are definitely still a few great tracks on the album and it is certainly an interesting listen. Not suitable for strict Thrash Purists who don’t like any deviation from the golden formula, but for fans with an open mind this is a solid seven-out-of-ten level release.