Artist: Nuclear Assault
Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords
Release Date: 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: Alive Again Artist: Nuclear Assault Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords Release Date: 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Famine (2/26/03):
Have I had a frank discussion with you about thrash yet? I probably should have by now. . . The golden age of thrash had a fairly limited run - starting around 1983, peaking from 1986 to 1989 and making a fast exit around 1991 when it was crushed by the Metallica (black album) and Nirvana (Nevermind) tag team. When you look at all the metal bands that have come and gone over the years, relatively few of them were from this era. There just weren't as many bands then. There were probably fewer top tier thrash bands back then than there are independent metal labels today. Scary. Anyway, for as small a scene (relatively speaking) as it was, the diversity in the bands' sounds was incredible. The music was all similar enough to be considered thrash, but the bands were constantly evolving and outdoing each other. One band was heavier, the next had sicker solos, another went more melodic, more double bass, heavier riffs, more pit inducing mosh parts and so on. It was really an incredible time. And in this time (when I was walking to school uphill both ways), each thrash band had a vocalist with a sound all his own. This alone was a unique characteristic that helped define the sound of the band. Slayer. OverKill. King Diamond. Exodus. VoiVod. Anthrax. Forbidden. Testament. Flotsam and Jetsam. Death Angel. Vio-Lence. Like snowflakes from hell, there were no two alike.And there was nobody (before or since) that sounded like Nuclear Assault's John Connelly. His voice is really indescribable. It isn't any good (in traditional terms), but it is caustic and corrosive and very Nuclear Assault. And by the same token, there was nobody writing music that sounded like Nuclear Assault. Sure, it had a good beat, you could mosh to it and it was clearly classifiable as thrash, but all comparisons end there. Between the voice, the guitar tones, the lyrics and the riffs, they were in a class by themselves. That doesn't mean that they were ultra-popular, though. There are many metalheads out there who just can't get into the band's unorthodox brand of New York thrash. Bay Area darlings these guys were not. But heavy? Yes. When Game Over hit the streets in 1986 it was about the heaviest thing going - as brutal as Reign In Blood, but with a totally different vibe. Slayer had satan in hell as a theme. Nuclear Assault had man on earth - and it was equally as dark. Slayer had better drums. Nuclear Assault had better mosh riffs. It really is amazing how bands so different could inhabit the same genre. At any rate, Nuclear Assault went on to release The Plague (1987), Survive (1988) and Handle With Care (1989) to critical acclaim before beginning to fade with Out Of Order (1991). If you just tuned in, I already explained that 1991 was a really bad year for thrash. And it was.
Never one to be beaten down by the man, Danny Lilker bailed on Nuclear Assault to devastate death/grind fans in Brutal Truth. In the midst of thrash's dark ages, Nuclear Assault ended up putting out an entertaining but mediocre album called Something Wicked in 1993 with a revamped lineup. So, if you are keeping score, Nuclear Assault had four really good albums before being destroyed by corporate thrash and grunge, and fading into a distant memory. Brutal Truth kicked ass and then broke up. Danny Lilker was involved in a slew of projects. S.O.D. got back together and then broke up. And then Danny decided to get Nuclear Assault back together. This brings us to Alive Again. The original members got back together and recorded a live album made up of material from their first four (read best) albums. And, in case you are reading this to find out about Alive Again, it kicks fucking ass. The group sounds as good, if not better than in their heyday. Really. John Connelly's voice sounds better. Lilker growls more. And the production is arguably better than on any of those original albums. I don't know exactly why that is, but it must have to do with technology, because live albums rarely have superior sound. Plus, Nuclear Assault never relied on studio trickery to begin with. Add to that the fact that all these songs are put together on this album with the same modern production ethic, and it really makes for a cohesive greatest hits package. If you are not familiar with Nuclear Assault and want to be, you would do yourself a favor by picking up this CD. If you like it, then get into the band starting with the first album and take it from there. If you are a fan of modern thrash, but aren't familiar with the golden age, this might not do it for you because it doesn't exhibit the same tired vocal style. But for those with an interest in diversity in metal, rest assured that nobody sounds like Nuclear Assault. . . in 2003, or ever. Mutants for nukes!
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