NUCLEAR ASSAULT — The Plague (review)

NUCLEAR ASSAULT — The Plague album cover EP · 1987 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Vim Fuego
Nuclear Assault is one of those bands where if you see their name on an album, you know what you’re going to get. ‘The Plague’ delivers exactly what it promises, and throws in a couple of surprises for good measure.

Basically, ‘The Plague’ picks up right where ‘Game Over’ left off, but the band had developed a little. The most obvious difference is John Connelly’s voice had matured a bit, and he seemed more confident as a vocalist. Despite annunciating clearly, he was still one of the hardest thrash vocalists to understand. The overall production is also stronger than on ‘Game Over’; giving more bite to the rhythm guitar in particular. Nuclear Assault’s sound was always more hardcore influenced than New York scene mates Anthrax’s, particularly Dan Lilker’s bass lines. It is hard to imagine what direction Anthrax might have taken if he’d remained in that band.

For reasons best known to themselves, Nuclear Assault released the song “Game Over” on ‘The Plague’ EP rather than the album of that title. It’s a speedy little instrumental ditty, and sets the tone for the songs to follow.

In these days where it is commonplace for musical styles the world over to get mashed together, it seems strange that Nuclear Assault were a little worried about “Butt Fuck”. After all, thrash fans weren’t really known for appreciating surprises. The song starts off as a traditional enough hardcore track, with spoken word vocals, but then kicks into a laid back blues passage. “Ya know, we’re probably gonna get a whole lot of slack for putting a blues part on a thrash record,” drawled Connelly. And they did, but like he goes on to say “If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it”. The song is basically a rant about the trials and tribulations of recording an album, and anyone who misses the obvious humour in it needs a kicking.

The title track is one of the most ambitious Nuclear Assault recorded. Instead of balls to the wall thrash, “The Plague” is a slower epic track, which has a doomy feel to it. It allows Lilker’s bass room to wander, and features noise-laden solos not constrained by the band’s usual velocity. Connelly pulls out an impressive falsetto for the chorus, and while he’s not completely in control of the upper registers of his voice, it puts the point across and contrasts well to his normal bark.

Just so you don’t forget this is Nuclear Assault, final track “Cross Of Iron” puts the pedal to the metal, pulling out shredding solos, and high speed riffery.

While this release doesn’t have a whole lot of substance, it is fun to listen to, and that is what music should be all about.
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