Specially mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel/ Temple of Disharmony, 100% original sound, no remaster!
After spending the first few months after the release of their debut album "Game Over" on tour, Nuclear Assault entered Music Grinder studios in Los Angeles for two months in December 1986 with producer Randy Burns to record the 6-track EP "The Plague". The result was a mix of re-recorded demo material ("The Plague", "Cross of Iron", "Nightmares") and new songs ("Game Over", "Butt Fuck", "Justice"). The record was initially supposed to be called "Cross of Iron" and released in a cross-shaped cover artwork. But Combat Records feared negative reactions from religious organizations and objected to the idea, so that the record was finally entitled "The Plague" and released with a post-apocalyptic cover artwork in the vein of "Game Over".
Backed by a better production, Nuclear Assault continued their relentless musical path on ?The Plague". The lyrics remain cutting too. For example the song ?Butt Fuck" is aimed at M-tley Crue singer Vince Neil and the severe car accident caused by him while heavily drunk a few years earlier, that left Neil almost unharmed, but killed Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas ?Razzle" Dingley. Dan Lilker remembers in an interview with the Voiced from the Darkside mag: ?He literally got away with murder. We thought he should've gone to prison and got anally raped like most young men do when they're put in U.S. prisons. We made the whole thing funny, but we meant it." The song is also remarkable when it comes to the music, as the thrash metal eruptions at the beginning and the end of the song are interrupted by a blues part with a totally different lyrical theme.
With its merciless in your face mixture of hardcore, grindcore and thrash metal ?The Plague" fits seamlessly into Nuclear Assault's discopraphy and is definetely a must-have for all thrash metal- and 80ies-maniacs!
