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I was introduced to Nuclear Assault thanks to their 3 song Brain Death Ep. I had heard the song on college radio and it was an instant classic to me. Their debut album, Game Over came out soon after that. And roughly a year later their next classic, The Plague EP would come out. I indulged in each new N.A. release. And I have to say, compared to some others in the later 80's like Testament and Megadeth, Nuclear Assault was a band that was surprisingly consistent.

They have amazingly witty, sometimes socially conscious lyrics (sometimes very politically incorrect lyrics), mixed with a brutal blend of hardcore, metal & even a little classic rawk. The later 80's releases Survive & Handle With Care were flawless classics, as much as other releases of that time such as Eternal Nightmare, and Extreme Aggression etc.

Of course you can't talk about N.A. without addressing the obvious ties to both Anthrax, S.O.D. (or Brutal Truth) in phenomenal bassist Dan Lilker (Third only to bassists Sharlee D'Angelo, & Steve Digorgio for the number of bands he participates in at one time). I'll admit, without John Connely's inimitable voice, this band would still be great. But he just makes the band THAT much greater with his violent, shrieking. And Drummer Glenn Evans is about as solid as Thrash drummers come.

Of course when the inevitable lineup & record label changes hit the band in 1992 they seemed to lose momentum, and by 94 Connelly & Evans had retired the band.

In 2002 they were back with 3/4 of the original band, and toured the World. I was fortunate to catch them on this tour. I'll be blunt. Even with the euphoria I was feeling over reunions from such bands as Death Angel & Exodus at that time; neither one sounded quite as together or prepared as they could have. But I can say with all certainty Nuclear Assault in 2002 is still THEE most intense Thrash band I've seen, second only to Vio-Lence, which is quite a lofty compliment. They were Absolutely perfect!

2003 saw the release of their Alive Again live CD. And it just doesn't disappoint whatsoever. The studio follow up Third World Genocide unfortunately didn't quite live up to my lofty expectations. Mainly John Connelly seems to not quite have the pipes he used to. Still this is a band that is worthy of checking out. Great catchy riffs, hilarious, satirical,yet sometimes socially scathing lyrics. The band are most definitely Thrash Icons, who deserve some recognition.

Oh, Warlock, you must already know (if you remember) my own feelings on such an amazingly, consistently cool thrash band ('supergroup', really) like Nuclear Assault. They are one of my all-time favourites in Thrash. They are definitely under-rated by too many fans otherwise hung up on the Big Four and the other more popular acts, but NA remains an icon and a legend, in the eyes of very many other fans. I've always loved their full-throttle intensity and originality, and yea, I'm a fan of (their) uncompromising, lacerating, political/socially edged lyrics. My intro to NA was the Survive release, then Handle With Care, and after that a combined 2-in-1 issue of Game Over/The Plague. I found the last one, TWG, a definite let-down from a band that I otherwise have come to expect only absolutely top-drawer stuff. But oooh, that Alive Again live release was breathtakingly great thrash, all over again.

And oh, I love all their cousins and spin-off acts, Anthrax, S.O.D, and Brutal Truth. Dan Lilker is one of those unique, outstanding, authentic metal warriors that have always carried and kept the flag of Metal, aloft and abuzz with quality work, in the studio, and on stage.

Pretty good band. Their first few albums are great, but I can't get into the later stuff.