Nuclear Assault: Game Over 12"

Leaving Anthrax to their destiny, bassist (and co-founder) Dan Lilker formed another east coast group with Nuclear Assault, taking 'Thrax roadie John Connelly with him on vocals and guitar. On 1986 debut, Game Over, whilst drawing from Lilker's contributions to Fistful of Metal and Speak English or Die, Nuclear Assault unleashes a delightfully ugly thrash, crossover and speed metal hybrid dripping with humor and '80s paranoia.

The majority of the songs here are uncomplicated and uncompromising thrashers. Despite the reliance on speed and simplicity of songwriting, the album has a lot going for it, where similar attempts by other bands usually falter. Considering the unlikely appointment of Connelly, his pipes are memorable; made-up of guttural but melodic yells and screams, and mixed with a clarity you wouldn't expect. Secondly, besides the lengthy "Brain Death", each track is below the four minutes mark, without running the risk of overstretching material or overindulgence. Musicianship is of high quality, keeping things relatively tight considering the average tempo, and the frenzied soloing cuts like a knife. The album is also neatly broken up by the S.O.D.-esque crossover skits "Hang the Pope" and "My America", the mid-tempo bouncer "Nuclear War" and the aforementioned closing epic "Brain Death". Oh, and don't forget "Mr. Softee Theme", their rendition of which closes side "A" on a cheeky note.

Faults are few and far between; the skits are amusing but hardly essential, and the otherwise brilliant "After the Holocaust" briefly makes use of the painfully generic (E-G-A-Bb) riff sequence which was surely overused even by '86. You can knock a few points off for interchangeable lyrical content; there are few stand outs (the single verse of "Betrayal" and the cannibalistic surgeons of "Brain Death"), but the album succeeds thematically on the whole. As far as debuts in thrash go, Game Over is a classic: plenty of room for the band to develop their sound and ideas, but a consistent and entertaining addition to the burgeoning scene.