Nuclear Assault
Third World Genocide
4.8
I’ll make this quick, as there has already been plenty of advance word about Nuclear Assault’s Third World Genocide, and as you’ve probably seen, the criticism has been brutal. In fact, Nuclear Assault, as the saying goes, has taken more shots to the face than Jenna Jameson. The album isn’t quite as bad as many critics would have you believe, but there is no denying that it’s an entirely disappointing effort from this once mighty band. As a long time fan, I’ve held off a bit in reviewing Third World Genocide, as this unpleasant task feels a little like leading your elderly grandpa (who used to be one fierce motherfucker) out back for euthanasia.
Not to say that the so called “elderly” bands of metal can’t make solid contributions to today’s scene, as there has been plenty of recent evidence to the contrary. If there was a reunion and awards ceremony celebrating the old school American thrash bands that have weighed in during the last year with efforts of varying quality, the awards might look something like this:
Exodus, for Tempo of the Damned: MVP
Death Angel, for The Art of Dying: “Dude, Where’s My Thrash?”
Flotsam and Jetsam, for Dreams of Death: 110% Award (also awarded the “Operation: Mindcrime Scholarship for Underprivileged Bands)
Megadeth, for The System Has Failed: So Good, So Mediocre, So What?
Overkill, for ReliXIV: “I’ve seen this episode before, but it’s a good one”/”Darwin was a pussy anyway”
Unfortunately, the boys from Nuclear Assault would be accepting the award for disappointing their fans and diluting their good name. Third World Genocide is by no means unlistenable, but is rarely enjoyable. Credit to the band for keeping it heavy, and the album does sound very much like Nuclear Assault, albeit a watered down and toothless version lacking the sharpness and vitality that was at the core of the band's classic works. John Connelly’s voice hasn’t held up very well (not surprising given his style), and the riffs are for the most part stock and uninspiring. The album trips in a big way with the weak opening title track and vanilla “Price of Freedom”. It does pick up steam in places, and the strongest part of the album is the middle section containing songs like “Exoskeletal”, “Living Hell” and the few speedier songs on the album, such as “Fractured Minds” and “Eroded Liberty”. But even if Third World Genocide was cobbled together as an EP with a box cutter, some tape, and a few apologies, it would still be questionable whether it was worth your cash. The requisite fuck-around songs do nothing to help the effort. Incredibly, the intolerable jackassery of “Long Haired Asshole” was lifted from the John Connelly Theory album and reworked for this set, and “Whine and Cheese” sounds dangerously close to The Offspring territory. Also no help is the album’s poor production, which sounds more appropriate for the period of the band’s best work.
Nuclear Assault would’ve been better off to let the remains of Something Wicked rot in its shallow grave than to serve up further evidence of their inability to create work worthy of the band’s name. Only diehard fans should bother with Third World Genocide, as other fans who lay down their hard earned money for this lifeless display will likely end up feeling like they’ve been subjected to a (to borrow from the later censored title of an earlier, edgy Nuclear Assault song) “You Figure It Out”. Game Over, indeed.
And then grandpa just...went to sleep.
