Thrash seems to be a bit of a childish joke at times. Gone are the days when a band had something to say, or music had a real message, now it seems to be all songs about partying and getting drunk and a kind of ironic nostalgia from 18 year olds about how good the 80’s were. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all good fun for a while – just the other day I was listening to F.K.U. and chortling as I read the lyrics to songs like ‘Moshaholics Anonymous’…but then it is good to see there are thrash bands around who are the real deal and are in some ways going a bit deeper than all that partying and silliness.
These five chaps from Chile all look pretty pissed off in their photo - no Bermuda shorts or empty beer cans in sight and the music here reflects that. It’s reasonably mature in some respects, and although it’s nothing original I like the fact that they sound genuine. The intro passage is rather memorable and epic, and soon the main opening riff to ‘Belligerence’ comes blazing in. It’s impossible not to mention the fact that this bears a striking similarity to Metallica’s ‘Blackened’ which is no bad thing really. There are plenty of punishing riffs and relentless drum patterns to be found here on this album. ‘Asphyxia’ has quite a raw edge to it while there’s plenty of energy on display.
‘Acts Of Depravity’ has a slower, driving melody with a sinuous guitar line that adds a slice of intrigue to things. The vocals are particularly belligerent and from the school of Mille Petrozza or perhaps Tom Araya – they are fairly two dimensional, but they suit the music well and put across the aggressive tone of the lyrics well. ‘The One We Must Kill’ has a great solo that emerges from the punchy and highly accessible thrash rhythms. It’s all very tight and well played and there is plenty here to make any respectable thrash fan want to bang their head. This is what I’d term to be backwards looking in terms of influence, with an old school feel and those who like their thrash aggressive and a bit raw will certainly dig this.
http://www.myspace.com/nuclearthrash
