Alright, maniacs, lemme tell you about an album that'll kick your stereo's ass straight to hell. We're talking about Nuclear Assault's "Handle With Care," a 1989 sonic grenade launched right at the tail end of the thrash metal arms race. Forget your polished, commercial crap - this ain't Metallica selling out stadiums. This is raw, in-your-face aggression that'll leave you with a ringing in your ears and a newfound appreciation for fallout shelters.
These guys hail from New York, a city that breeds discontent like a petri dish breeds bacteria. And discontent is exactly what pours out of every riff on this record. It's 1989, the Cold War's still a frosty bitch, and the threat of nuclear annihilation hangs heavy in the air. Nuclear Assault don't shy away from it; they shove it right down your throat. Tracks like "Brainwashed" and "Blood from a Stone" are lyrical Molotov cocktails, chucked at hypocrisy, warmongering, and the whole goddamn nuclear arms race.
Musically, these guys ain't reinventing the thrash wheel. But who needs reinvention when you can perfect the art of sonic warfare? Think Slayer's ferocity spiked with Exodus' technicality, all delivered with John Connelly's bark that could curdle milk at a hundred paces. Drummer Gene Hoglan? Dude's a goddamn cyborg behind the kit, laying down a foundation tighter than a government conspiracy. The album's title track, "Handle With Care," is a relentless onslaught of riffs and Hoglan's machine-gun drumming, while "Critical Mass" showcases the band's ability to blend aggression with melody. The instrumental "F# (Wake Up)" serves as a brief yet intense interlude, allowing Dan Lilker's bass to take center stage.
Now, some yahoos might call this derivative. I call it essential. Producer Randy Burns, the madman behind classic thrash albums like Megadeth's "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" and Death's "Scream Bloody Gore," keeps things raw and ripping, capturing the band's energy in a way that'll make your speakers weep molten plastic. These guys probably recorded the whole damn album in someone's basement, fueled by stale beer and existential dread. And that, my friends, is the beauty of it.
Fans still rave about the album's raw intensity, the band's technical prowess, and Connelly's commanding vocals. And who could forget the iconic cover art, featuring a mutated hand clutching a nuclear warhead? It perfectly captures the album's apocalyptic themes.
"Handle With Care" ain't for the faint of heart. It's a middle finger to the status quo, a sonic assault on the senses, and a potent reminder that the world might just end in a mushroom cloud. But hey, at least it'll sound damn good when it happens. So crank this record up to eleven, slam your head against the wall, and let Nuclear Assault be the soundtrack to your personal apocalypse. You won't regret it. Probably.
