Third World Genocide

2005 was an unusually productive year for thrash metal, perhaps jointly inspired by the unexpected success of Death Angel's The Art of Dying and Exodus's Tempo of the Damned. Hell, even Slayer managed to croak out a halfway decent album around this time. Goodness knows Nuclear Assault were in need of a "return to form" after the sloshing mediocrity of Out of Order and Something Wicked, and props to them for getting the band back together and throwing their hat in the ring. It's a real shame about the result.

Third World Genocide is of superficial and insignificant caliber, displaying a grotesque redundancy of dross skatepark riffs and atonal, faux-hardcore barking. The end result sounds like an uncanny prediction of the plasticity of the NWOTM scene on the horizon, especially with that meager, paper-thin guitar tone and clamorous attempts at humor with 'The Hockey Song' and 'Long Haired Asshole'. It's not a complete catastrophe, as there are tracks like 'Human Wreckage', a bass-heavy and charismatic barnstormer with some charismatic delivery of simple ideas, and 'Eroded Liberty', featuring a devilish guitar solo and malcontented riff that sounds straight out of their Headbanger's Ball days.

But the low points are some of the most immusical crossroads thrash has to offer. I think the weakest track is either 'Fractured Minds' or the title track, which seem to quote the insipid jank of albums like Cyclone Temple's My Friend Lonely, or, hell, even their own Something Wicked. That's not quite what a comeback album is supposed to accomplish. So, with a third world approach to sound engineering and a first world approach to lazy, modernistic retreads of past glories, I'm afraid I can't recommend Third World Genocide to anyone but the most diehard of Nuclear Assault fans.

Some things should just stay dead. As any zombie aficionado will tell you, things that crawl out of graves seldom come out better or equal to their living versions. Dan Lilker and co. should've taken some time to consider this premise before reanimating Nuclear Assault and coming up with the abomination that is Third World Genocide.

So if you were foolish enough to spend money on this or even waste your time listening to it, you would get a third-rate modern thrash album that captures none of the rawness and intensity of the original Nuclear Assault. Occasionally they mix it up with some generic groove metal, some terrible punk rock a la "Whine and Cheese," and lame attempts at humour with the banjo-driven country yokel tune that is "Long Haired Asshole."

There's virtually nothing right with this. The production is muffled and amateurish. It's so bad it sounds like a demo, especially the drums with their over-loud snares and cymbals. The riffs and songwriting are generic and tired. There's no real immediacy in the delivery either. It sounds lazy and stoned, which is probably the exact state of mind the boys were in when they concocted this tripe.

Vocalist John Connelly sounds terrible. He was never a great vocalist but he no longer has any of the passion and bile he displayed back in the 1980s on classics such Game Over or Handle With Care. He used to explode out of your speakers but now just sounds like a sad, aimless joke.

About the only time band seem to wake up and kick into gear are the derivative but energetic "Fractured Minds" and "Eroded Liberty." These have some of the old Nuclear Assault punchy energy but are still let down by that awful production and are still at best generic, by-the-numbers Nuclear Assault.

Seldom has a reformed act failed so miserably to capture any of their original energy. And seldom has a band of experienced musicians sounded so amateurish and clueless. Third World Genocide is what one expects out of a bunch of high school stoner rejects, not from a band whose members have been in the extreme metal scene for a total of over two decades at the time of release and helped pioneer thrash metal in the first place.

Nuclear Assault is back! This matter did not let me rest until I bought the first album after twelve years. No doubt, this output would enrich my life while delivering fantastic songs that followed their outstanding classics. But I was completely wrong. Here come the facts.

The rattling drums, the comparatively powerless guitars and the ordinary vocals failed to create a thrilling atmosphere. I heard lame mid-tempo tunes that were played by four men who reached the limits of their endurance. Instead of winning back the old fans by celebrating the style of their first three albums, the band brewed a strange mixture of heavy metal sections, rarely appearing thrash metal elements and ridiculous punk melodies. "Whine and Cheese" sounded like a bastard of (very confused) Bad Religion and (equally confused) Dropkick Murphys. "Long Haired Asshole" wanted to be funny. But one needed a very special kind of humour to appreciate this light and fluffy monstrosity. In my humble opinion, the song was as funny as the battle of Stalingrad. Admittedly, these were no representative songs. Nonetheless, they hurt the flow of the full-length in a considerable manner. Not to mention the flow of the individual songs. "Price of Freedom", as one of many examples, was more or less solidly constructed, but its tension broke down as soon as the powerless guitar solo set in. Generally speaking, the guitar solos lacked of fury and pinpoint accuracy.

Fortunately, there were also some relatively strong tracks that made one sit up and take notice. "Human Wreckage" broke out of the tiring mid-tempo pattern and distinguished itself through its uncompromising approach. "Eroded Liberty" and "Fractured Minds" did not lack of liveliness and the sinister "Living Hell" also possessed acceptable and dense riffs. But this was not enough in order to create a competitive product. While other reanimated bands like Exodus built a bridge to their outstanding debuts, the here described comeback referred to the more or less average full-lengths of the band´s discography, in particular to "Out of Order" and "Something Wicked". I am sorry, but I really have no explanation for this way of proceeding.

By taking into account these circumstances, it came as no surprise that "Third World Genocide" became a flop. The unimaginative riffing, the expressionless vocal performance - Connelly never sounded worse - and the aforementioned defects of the production did not provide good reasons in order to buy the album. Therefore, the band disappeared as swift as it had come. I believe no one regretted that the guys did not release a further album. Ten years of silence followed, but now I am curious about "Pounder", their upcoming EP.

Nuclear Assault is a band that needs no introduction, or at least they didn't prior to splitting up in the mid 1990s as the thrash world was falling apart around them. Helping to usher in more of a punk/hardcore infused take on the style that was not quite as overtly crossover as Suicidal Tendencies or D.R.I., they always had a certain charm to their madness, even when they were on the decline with the likes of Out Of Order and Something Wicked, which were obvious departures from their original niche in order to placate a changing scene. That's sort of the problem with the circumstances surrounding their ill-fated post-millennial comeback Third World Genocide, it is a product of its time, a time that was at its best defined by the likes of Megadeth's The System Has Failed and Exodus' Tempo Of The Damned (aka, modernized semi-retro thrash metal that's still just a bit too mid-tempo for its own good), but otherwise was the era of St. Anger and Spirit In Flames, namely poorly produced garbage with little to redeem it musically.

To be fair, this is not nearly the troubled, profoundly retarded basket case that was St. Anger, though there are moments where it gets a little too close to it for comfort. The production quality is of a rawer and low-fidelity character, featuring drums that are a bit too loud, and guitars that are generally muddy and lacking the needed punch to make the riff work gel with the rhythm section. It's not so much a groove dominated inducer of sleep like a number of albums influenced by Machine Head and the then recently defunct Pantera, but when hearing redundant, mid-tempo clunkers like "Living Hell" and "Defiled Innocence" that basically dominate the first half of the album, the shoe finds itself fitting a little too much. Granted, a lot of these songs are dressed up with some moderately impressive guitar solos that might resemble Dimebag if the guitar sound was a bit more processed, but a 30 second blast of impressed leads doesn't cover for 4 or more minutes of repetitive drudgery with a sloppy sounding production.

There is naturally an occasional diamond in the rough, though nothing that could be labeled a gleaming example of thrashing mayhem that even gets close to Handle With Care or Survive. On the generally mid-tempo side with some occasional bursts of high octane mayhem are "Exoskeletal" and "Discharged Reason", which could pass for something heard out of Nailbomb or maybe a slightly longer lasting, muddier answer to S.O.D.'s famed debut. "Fractured Minds" also makes a pretty decent show at being a full out thrasher with plenty of fancy bass work interweaving a set of moderately impressive riffs that are, sadly, just a bit too muddy to really punch the listener out the way they obviously want to. There is also a full out punk rock song played at roughly the same tempo as a vintage Ramones song in "Whine And Cheese" that is reasonably listenable and provides one of the few appropriate musical homes for John Connelly's high pitched shouts, which are ironically the only thing on this album that sounds remotely like the good old days.

Considering the competition that this album had at the time, this is ironically a slightly above average outing, but still quite unworthy of a band that all but took the New York scene by storm in the mid 1980s and provided an interesting foil to the likes of Anthrax and Overkill. Had this album received a better production and some of the mid-tempo chugging in the first half of the album been sexed up a bit more, this could have potentially rivaled Killbox 13. This isn't full out skip-worthy in its entirety, but even when dealing with the better material that populates the second half of this album, it's hard to imagine somebody expecting a return to form liking this. If Nuclear Assault wants to really get back into the spirit of the good old days (this obviously was not attempting that), they could take some cues from the band that made the title of their seminal debut their own moniker, otherwise it may be Game Over for these guys in the studio (pun intended).

So, here we have a record that while arguably satisfactory for the tepid scene it was released into, becomes wholly offensive when one considers the genre stalwarts that telegraphed it to the thrash-starved masses. Thrash had yet to fully come out of its flat-line state at this point, and although bands like Overkill and Exodus were still banging out passable odes to a throwback state of mind like ReliXIV and Tempo of the Damned, Third World Genocide fails to achieve many of the same pernicious goals. Is it as bad as it's abhorrent reputation suggests? Well no, it isn't - but believe me, this isn't even Something Wicked.

The decision to go with the smaller Screaming Ferret Wreckords was elaborated by Lilker as a decision based on a personal relationship with the label's owner. Would nobody else take a chance with Nuclear Assault around this time? This may have sounded the death knell long before the album was even recorded, as a lack of production values all around mar this entire experience. I'm not saying thrash requires massive production values - especially Nuclear Assault; but this sounds like a demo tape at best. Connelly and Burke sound completely buried, exemplified by really shallow, combo-amp level distortions that simply diffuse into background fuzz once one takes Lilker's omnipresent bass into account. Yeah, it's nice to have Lilker back, and he remains his typically busy self in the background, embodying the single performance that manages to dodge most of the bullets hurled by the production imbalances.

Most of the songs aren't so bad either. In this regard, Third World Genocide doesn't fall too far from the toxic tree along with Something Wicked. Many of the slower tracks are in the vein of the title track from the latter, and we get a few shots to the arm in the vein of "To Serve Man." There isn't anything quite as unhinged and elementary-level as "Poetic Justice," but this album has plenty of cringe-worthy moments on its own anyway. Specifically, "Whine and Cheese" and "Long Haired Asshole" - completely skippable fodder. I really tried to give the former a chance, but Connelly is just grating beyond belief. It is the aural equivalent of getting stabbed in the family jewels with a rusty railroad spike, and having Connelly proceed to pee on the wound. It is difficult to pinpoint why his inflection fails so badly here, but age has certainly not served him well. His trademark, choppy barking is present and accounted for, but it sounds extremely thin and tired; almost as if he is about to pass out from exhaustion after every take.

At any rate, there is still plenty of solid material on Third World Genocide. "Living Hell," "Discharged Reason," and "Fractured Minds" are all solid enough and would fit nicely onto Something Wicked. In this regard, Nuclear Assault haven't lost a step, and somewhere within this album an impressive 8-10 song beast lurks. As it stands, it feels like the band tried throwing in everything including the kitchen sink (in a castoff from Connelly's solo act) in an attempt at inveigling the listener through excess. The one-off inclusion of Burke is neither here nor there. His solos are well thought out and melodically appealing, but they don't always fit well into the songs they occupy. I find it funny that so many fans disregarded Something Wicked on the grounds of "not being Nuclear Assault," but the band regroups with more of the classic lineup and releases a far inferior album in Third World Genocide. Pick and choose accordingly, and expect the skip button to get some exercise on this one.

It says a lot to me that, even at its very best, Third World Genocide is capable of evoking little more than nostalgia for other songs that came before it, and not only those of the Nuclear Assault canon, but others from the 80s. For instance, "Price of Freedom" has a chorus bit that sounds eerily reminiscent of Lääz Rockit's "Leatherface". It says even more, that even with bassist Dan Lilker back in the fold, dragging Brutal Truth guitarist Erik Burke along to fill the vacant guitar chair of Anthony Bramante (who appears only on "Glenn's Song" at the end), these guys managed to whip up one of the hands down worst 'comeback' albums of the 21st century to date, not because it's totally out of character or style as an attempt to return towards the group's 80s hardcore/punk-laced aesthetics, but because the songwriting flat out sucks. The riffs on this thing might not have even been good enough as demo fare before the guys got a record deal. It's nearly 100% cutting room floor pap that makes me frustrated to just think of it, uninspired to the point that it would even make me pine for their less than ideal 90s records Out of Order and Something Wicked...

When the band aren't fucking off with a TERRIBLE punk joke song like "Whine and Cheese", a requisite, brief grinder like "The Hockey Song", or covering a countrified John Connelly Theory tune (why?) in "Long Haired Asshole", none of which are even remotely funny, they are meting out the most generic riffing patterns in their whole history. These guys must not have spent more than five minutes writing a single track here. 'Guys, does this riff sound like thrash?' 'Uh...I think so?' 'Okay, rolling tape.' The lyric patterns seem like afterthoughts squeezed onto trifle guitar progressions that evoke absolutely none of the pavement cracking filth of the past. Tunes like "Third World Genocide" and "Exoskeletal" are little more than dime a dozen whiff thrash, which at best offer you a burning lead. Occasionally there will be a busier pattern, like in "Human Wreckage" where the group guns for something more involved and ambitious, but even these come up dry due to the stale sounding production permeating the entire effort. The reformed New Yorkers had moved over to the Screaming Ferret Wreckords roster (a local New England label from New Hampshire), so one could not have expected high budget wizardry, but this still comes up shy of any prior full-length.

Lilker is perhaps the only consistent positive on this album, but he had little to work with. Still, his buzzing and thumping bass lines seem as driven as we remember them, and to be fair the lead sequences are often pretty explosive too. The saddest fact is that, aesthetically, Third World Genocide is quite close to the first pair of albums in terms of the riff structures. Gone are the more accessible overtures of Something Wicked. This is pure regression, but it forgets to drag with it those songwriting chops that put the band on the map to begin with. This is not The Antichrist, with a veteran squad (like Destruction) finding such renewed vigor and purpose that it manages to trump itself. Rather, it's about the same level of quality one might expect of a random, drunken rehearsal session in 1987 when the band hit record on their tape deck and decided to spontaneously create songs, then scrap them the next morning for a lack of hooks. The material on this album is structured, with clearly defined verses, choruses, and tempo change ups, but its wholly unimpressive, even at its 'high point': "Glenns Song", with the "Critical Mass" like bass rhythm, dull chugging bounce riffs, weak as shit, barely audible verse vocals that somehow transition into one or two screaming moments of actual value. Conveniently tucked away at the end...

Hell, even the lyrics seem uninspired. One might think these guys would drop some wisdom on us after all their time in the industry, but it's the usual thrash anthems against racism and dictatorship that the band, and many others like them, had already trampled in the past. Not that I'd mind these subjects if they were gifted with a decent chorus sequence that made my fists fly as in the old days, but such is nowhere to be found on Third World Genocide, a complete dud which even makes the worst output of fellow East Coasters like Anthrax and Overkill in the 90s/00s shine by comparison. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to pretending this doesn't exist.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Returning from a lengthy absence from studio recording, legendary thrashers Nuclear Assault emerge with a respectable, yet not overwhelming comeback effort which recalls moments of the band’s previous works while injecting new dimensions into their potent songwriting.

Vocalist John Connelly shows that he still has the pipes to hit glass-shattering high notes on the album’s title track, a scathing political indictment that is reminiscent of the group’s earlier works. The band inject a good shot of melody into “Price Of Freedom” that had been hinted at on the group’s previous efforts, but here, the group really open things up, allowing the music to breathe while retaining their patent heaviness.

New lead guitarist Eric Burke shows that he is an excellent shredder here, making a bold statement with his fretboard destroying lead work. An upbeat, forward-thrusting track “Human Wreckage” is also highlighted by a burning lead that simply smokes.

Long-time rhythm tag team Danny Lilker and Glenn Evans back Connelly up with a trademark fury on “Living Hell”, a dark, brooding thrashterpiece that is definitely a highlight of this record and you will discover that Connelly’s lyrical wit remains intact as they deliver a few laughs with the amusing, punky “Whine And Cheese” and the hilarious hillbilly rave-up “Long Haired Asshole”, slated to be the group’s first video clip from the album.

Meanwhile, tracks like “Discharged Reason” (which actually recalls the band’s “Game Over” intensity) and “Eroded Liberty” prove without a doubt that Nuclear Assault are a group with the ability to craft music that is equally infectiously addictive and dominatingly heavy. While this album is in no way as groundbreaking as “The Plague” and “Survive," it's no longer about breaking ground for this act, it's about giving fans some decent new material.

While it's possible that N.A. could have done better than "Third World Genocide," you have to give the band credit for what they've accomplished here. Does this album redefine the style? Certainly not. But for those fans who have been eager to hear new material from this important thrash ensemble for some time, this record holds its own against more than half the competition.

...Ok, now, usually when a band breaks up and returns it's a monumentous occassion filled with amazing guitar riffs and heart wrenching lyrics that probe the writer's deepest thoughts over that period of silence. It can also fine tune a band's craft from working with other bands if it comes down to it. However, this is simply not the case with NUCLEAR ASSAULT. But, sadly, this is one band that should have stayed down and gone with a puff of decency, morality, and integrity.

Third World Genocide (obviously picked as the title because of what it says and not for it's music) is the newly released studio record. This release being the first studio release in over a decade. But when you hear the album you would think it was compiled in only a matter of a month or two. Sure, as the press release says, the riffs are razor-edged, but that is only about 25% of the time. All in all, the album is really nbot that great a release.

The opening track "Third World Genocide" basically sets the terrible tone of the release with really bad recorded vocals that are almost inaudible as well as most of the time indecipherable. And it continues to sound this way until the track "Living Hell" which is one of the very few tracks you can actually sit through without holding the remote and forcing yourself to keep your finger away from the "track skip" button. But immediately after that you will pick it right back up.

At this point the band has no clue whether they are a speed/thrash metal act, or a punk act, with the horribly pathetic punk song "Whine And Cheese" which is basically a song dedicated to the old saying "would like some cheese with your whine?" and in fact that's the chorus line too. And the terrible sounds don't stop there, as you will literally fight with yourself to pay attention to the next track, "Defiled Innocence".

By the time you hit "Exoskeletal" you think, "Gee, maybe the album just got off to a shakey start." since the next few tracks are actually pretty decent and well done musically. But then they drop the ball with the really short grindcore-esque track "The Hockey Song", which literally the lyrics are only a line long and you'll wonder to yourself "what the hell?" as it comes to it's speedy end immediately after it starts. And then it all goes downhill.

"Eroded Liberty" brings out the old school thrash riffs and feel, but the chorus just doesn't work musically. The drums don't synch up with the blazing guitars (perhaps from old age or lack of a better ability to play at the time of recording?) during this time and make this promising song a bit hard to stomach. And then the unthinkable happens with the next track as you feel like you're in the southern states with the banjo and that thwang-thingie for this country ho-down classic that is sure to make all loyal fans and metal head laugh their heads off to the point of nearly wetting themselves. But perhaps the last track, "Glenn's Song", is perhaps the best track on there, showing off their skill from the years past, with only slight vocal instabilities to keep everyone unstable.

So, all in all, this album is truly pointless and laughable. If you have an extra $15 in your pocket you're just dying to spend on useless garbage, buy this CD. It is guaranteed to be played only half way through. Unless, of course, you're one of those die hard fans of NUCLEAR ASSAULT who think that they "can do no wrong" when the evidence to deny that is so blatently in your face at that point and time. If you're not one of those types, then chances are you are just gonna sigh a breath a relief when that CD comes to it's close. Sure it has it's moments, it's positives and it's negatives, it's ups and it's downs...but the bad overwhelms the good, possibly making this release the worst to date. Perhaps they should have stayed split up. Atleast then they had their dignity, but after hearing this album, you can tell that they have lost it.

It's been really frustrating this year to have great thrash bands release mediocre or worse albums, and this just shows everyone that modern thrash really is, for the most part, dead. This unfortunate truth being said, onto the review:

Nuclear Assault have always been one of my favorite thrash bands, so for me this was a highly anticipated album. But when I did finally hear it about 2 days ago, I've regretting it ever since. The album starts with the title track, Third World Genocide. Now usually the title track is the best song of the album and sets the stage for the what the rest is to come - but after hearing track #1 I felt like crying. The vocals are disgustingly repetitive and don't sound good at all. Not a resemblance of old Nuclear Assault at all. There is constant thundering drumming which is just probably used because they couldn't think of better drum lines, and endless feedback to give you a migraine. The only other mediocre songs on the album is Living Hell and Human Wreckage, which is what gets this album its measly 43 rating. Which is probably more than it deserves. These two songs have some decent guitar riffs and vocals that aren't entirely awful like all the other songs (mainly...Whine and Cheese). Yuck. But they're still awful. Basically throughout this album, the songs are littered with ridiculously long guitar solos that just sound like they've been thrown together from a discarded shit pile and hoped that they could pull if off as something good or worth listening to. The ubiquitous solos are undoubtably a mask for the vocals which sound most un-thrashy and gurgly. The bass is barely recognizable, though saying all this, I do have to admit the production is decent. What disappointed me most about this album was that Nuclear Assault decided to jump on the political bandwagon about the Middle East and war and basically shit since 9/11. At least that's the strong vibe that I got after a listen.

Bottom line, Third World Genocide is the icing on the cake of suck that is the 2005 weak thrash releases from what was once great thrash bands. Please try to avoid this at all costs, it's not worth your time or money. I pray for decent thrash for the remainder of the year.

Classic thrash bands continue to release new albums! Death Angel, Exodus, Metallica, Megadeth, Overkill (naturally), Kreator...now Nuclear Assault step up to the mark and present their newest full length “Third World Genocide”.

I was excited for this album, although upon first listen it was evident that Nuclear Assault are not what they used to be. Game Over II this is not, but there’s still enough here to cause me in one moment both feelings of bitter disappointment and excitement for a new Nuclear Assault record. Unfortunately, it has arrived and its only got 4 good songs.

It’s obvious this could have done with better arrangement, better production and better decisions regarding track selection. There’s nearly 41 minutes of material here and a couple of truly bad song choices - they were just not needed.

It seems the pressures of coming up with a whole album of great material was just too much. “Whine and Cheese”, is a stupid punk rock cover, not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but defiantly out of place on a Vio-lence record. Alternatively “Long Haired A$$hole”, is just plain bad - a stupid banjo song – and has absolutely no redeeming features “The Hockey Song” also, is bad: a parody of grindcore. Yes, I realise these tracks are jokes and perhaps I should accept them for that, but they severely disrupt the flow of the album and knock it down quite a few notches.

There are a few clear standouts and they very much save this record. “Human Wreckage…Living Hell” while not blistering thrash moves comfortably in the realm of groove thrash, but sacrifice direction and intensity for a slower tempo. Similarly, when the tempo is kicked up a notch on “Discharged Reason” and “Eroded Liberty”, some of the albums shortcomings can be forgotten. There’s still enough here to make it worth a listen, if only due to the dearth of thrash in 2005 and for fans of the band wanting another album.