NUCLEAR ASSAULT — Handle With Care (review)

NUCLEAR ASSAULT — Handle With Care album cover

Album · 1989 · Thrash Metal

4/5 · 2020-11-08
UMUR

"Handle With Care" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Nuclear Assault. The album was released through In-effect (a shortlived sister label to Relativity Records) in November 1989. It´s the successor to "Survive" from 1988. While Nuclear Assault weren´t the most commercially successful thrash metal act of their time, "Survive (1988)" and "Handle With Care" both earned them a strong following and the late 80s are probably considered their peak by most listeners.

While "Survive (1988)" was a strong release, it was still at times a bit unfocused. "Handle With Care" is overall a much more focused and mature album when reviewing the songwriting, and a more varied release too. Sure we still get short "spoof" songs like "Funky Noise" and "Mother's Day", which admittedly disrupt the flow of the album a bit, but the rest of the material on the album is very consistent in style and quality. Heavy- and faster-paced thrash metal riffs, powerful organic drumming, a high in the mix distorted bass, and John Connelly´s raw piercing vocals in front. That´s the sound of Nuclear Assault. As mentioned the quality of the material is consistent, but I´d still like to mention tracks like "New Song", "Critical Mass" (that chorus riff is absolutely amazing), "Inherited Hell", "Trail of Tears", and "F# (Wake Up)" as highlights.

Lyrics about fear of nuclear war, environmental issues, animal rights, and political corruption, always gave Nuclear Assault a pretty serious profile, but they are the type of act who understand that such heavy topics are best swallowed if there is room for the occasional humourous moment, so while the above mentioned "spoof" songs aren´t exactly what I perceive as great art, they perfectly balance out the more serious part of the album. The approach is not completely unlike the approach of contemporary artists like Anthrax and Sacred Reich.

"Handle With Care" features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, and upon conclusion "Handle With Care" is just the right step in the development of the band´s sound, and overall a high quality thrash metal release. While the quality is high throughout, the greatest asset of "Handle With Care" is actually that Nuclear Assault have a unique sound. It´s not that they use elements that are unusual for thrash metal, but how they combine those elements and of course Connelly´s distinct sounding voice. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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Kingcrimsonprog wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Great album.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

As far as I remember this album was among the first 20 albums I purchased, so I´ve had it for many years.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I was lucky enough to find this one at a thrift store for 2$USD! I do need to acquire the first two albums through.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Get the vinyl :-) Old school thrash deserves to be listened to on vinyl.

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Lucky for you! I want an original CD. The reissue is crap.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Never heard a CD version. I only have this one on Vinyl...

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I had Survive and always had a special fondness for the band's sound. Unfortunately, Survive is currently a pricey product to acquire on CD. So I got Handle with Care instead. And man, the sound is absolute shite. The version I have has been remastered to disaster. It's loud. Very loud. And really scratchy. It sounds like cranking it on a cheap mono radio and listening to it through a thin plastic funnel placed against the speaker. I'd really like to hear this album as it was intended to sound. As it is, my CD is going into the box of CDs for sale.