Nuclear Assault: Over 20 years of annihilation.
DECEMBER, 2005 - "So I hope they told you this one was gonna take a really long time," I tell Dan Lilker, reluctantly. Lucky for me, they did. He responds in his soft, disaffected NYC tone. "That's ok. I mean, I may want to get something to eat in a couple of hours or something." No sweat, Dan.
Don't be fooled by his mellow demeanor (his occasional sniffs lead me to believe a cold may also be a contributing factor this evening. It is winter, after all.) Lilker's involvement in prolific extreme metal bands like ANTHRAX, BRUTAL TRUTH, THE RAVENOUS, and of course NUCLEAR ASSAULT suggests a hardworking, creative, and somewhat restless spirit that is undoubtedly all about the rock.
The mushroom cloud first rose in early 1984 following Lilker's departure from ANTHRAX. Vocalist / guitarist John Connelly, a close friend of Dan's from the neighborhood, had also been active in a very early version of ANTHRAX. "Basically, I was getting into a lot of hardcore and stuff, and that was kind of becoming an influence besides thrash metal," Dan explains. "Of course, there’s always stuff like VENOM and SLAYER and all that, but we were getting into AGNOSTIC FRONT and DRI that had an influence on the lyrical side and also just on the general energy. When I wasn’t in ANTHRAX anymore, I took the opportunity to play something that would be a little harder and more aggressive, and out came NUCLEAR ASSAULT, I guess."
After some ins and outs with different players, NA settled on guitarist Anthony Bramante and ex-T.T. QUICK drummer Glenn Evans to round out the lineup. The band began playing relentlessly at any place that would have them (see below for Ray Dorsey's account from the early days), especially clubs like L'Amour in Brooklyn. Eventually, a few labels became interested, and the band signed with Combat Records. In early 1986, the band went in to record the "Game Over" record. "I think it took a couple of weeks to record," Dan remembers. "It was done at Pyramid Sound ("Fistful of Metal", "Speak English or Die", etc.) . That was familiar territory for me, it seemed like I was coming back every year with a different band by then! We had a lot of stuff we’d had written for awhile, so it was great to get it on tape and finally put it out."
"Game Over" was something special. The songs were short, powerful bursts of stripped-down metallic fury with obvious hardcore punk influences. Darker tracks like "Betrayal" and "Stranded in Hell" were uncompromising, raw, and surprisingly catchy. The band's affinity for goofery manifested itself through songs like "Mr. Softee Theme" and the grindish anthem "Hang the Pope", a track that has met with curious reactions over the years. "Glenn said he got death threats to the email addres of the NA website a few years ago. But, nothing that seemed entirely serious," Dan explains. "When we played in Scotland back in the 80s, we were selling those shirts and anyone who bought that shirt and put it on had to turn it around because the bouncers took exception. They were big Roman Catholic guys, big burly Scottish bouncers. They didn’t wanna see that all night. If you took a look at these guys, you’d do what they want. They were pretty huge. "
Later that same year, NUCLEAR ASSAULT travelled to Los Angeles to record a new EP entitled "The Plague". It was composed almost entirely of new material (with "Cross of Iron" being the only carryover from the early days). Among the songs on the new EP was perhaps NA's most infamous track, "Buttf*ck". Dan explains, "Yeah, that was kind of a half-serious jab at MÖTLEY CRÜE. Vince Neil in particular. That was right around the time he’d been in a drunk driving accident and the passenger, the drummer for HANOI ROCKS, got killed. Had it been anybody else except some big, popular, famous rock star they would have done jail time and had that happen to him. But because he has a special coalition of priveliges because he’s rich and famous, he has to do community service. We thought that was kind of unfair. But it was done in a kind of goofy way. We didn’t mention names or anything."
1988 found the boys in the studio again, this time recording their first disc for IRS Records, "Survive". "They gave us a huge budget, " Dan remembers. "I personally think it came out a little too polished. We spent a bunch of money on it, that was the thing to do in the 80s. We were on a somewhat-major label. Basically, I think it’s a great record. Definitely has a very “slick” sound. I prefer the “Handle with Care” production, which is also professional sounding but a little more raw. We were just maturing and writing songs that aren’t just fast all the way through. That was around when we were touring a bunch in Europe and getting ready to go to Japan, which was definitely a good time."
Indeed, the intensity of the band continued to evolve with the release of "Survive". It's almost impossible to describe the authenticity of the band's high-octane anthems like "Great Depression" for disaffected, thrash-obsessed teenagers in the late 1980s. Lyrics like "I don't recall asking you to stick your nose in my life / Why can't you mind your own fucking business leave my life alone", well...let's just say they hit home for a lot of kids at the time. When asked about the curious cover choice for the "Survive" record (the last song is a cover of ZEPPELIN's "Good Times, Bad Times"), Dan responds wryly. "I think that was just one of those unfortunate things where the record company wanted to have a cool cover on there, something they could put an EP around. One of those unfortunate incidents where we were listening to [the record company] instead of just handing them shit."
Bouncing back to Combat Records yet again, the NA boys unleashed arguably their most powerful record in 1989 with "Handle With Care". While many thrash bands in the late 1980s began to experiment with funky basslines and longer songs, the NA boys sharpened their distinctive short, crunchy songcraft into their mightiest set of songs to date. Check out Connelly's crazed-auctioneer vocals weaving in and out of the speeding riffs of "Emergency" for example. "I think that’s where we were at our most popular (if you want to count that as important), but as far as the band being a spectacle and headlining all over the world." Dan says. "Yeah, as far as the songwriting and having the support of labels and getting to go out and tour and all that, yeah. That was definitely, I think the high point."
But change was in the air. As the nineties rolled around, Lilker found himself increasingly bored with the "classic thrash" sound of NA, fascinated as he was with the rising popularity of death and black metal. "By 'Out of Order', I was losing interest in thrash and some relations inside the band were getting a little bit strained. Just various reasons, when you live with somebody for years, things tend to get problematic." he explains. "That was out in LA, one of the last ones [recorded] at the Music Grinder in Hollywood. By then Randy Burns was producing us. But not really doing much producing, he’d just kind of stick his head in once in awhile and go, 'Yeah, that sounds good!'. We ended up working a lot more with Casey who was the engineer, doing production stuff. But like I said, by then things were getting problematic. It was a good record, but it was done under circumstances that, for me, I was getting more into the Earache stuff by then (NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL) and finding that I wanted to go in that direction musically, so I wasn’t inspired. It’s not the worst record in the world, but it could have been better."
As band morale declined, the frustrations of dealing with record company decisions became harder to reconcile. When asked about the "Live at Hammersmith" record from 1990, Lilker all but pukes. "It was kinda bullshit actually. That was just the audio tracks from the video that had come out previously. We had already released “Live at Hammersmith” as a video, and all that was was the audio portion. Typical record company thing, you have to put out something to satisfy the obligations to get out of the contract. Just shit like that. That’s when I just started getting really disillusioned. Putting out a record that anybody’s gonna buy whose a fan of the band [they would say] 'Hmm, this sounds familiar. Don’t I have this on video?' It would seem questionable to make somebody…one thing if it came out first, but for it to come out afterwards. Just a little weird for me, so I don’t acknowledge that live album too much to be honest."
By the recording of the "Something Wicked" record, Lilker had left the band to pursue other interests. While he remained friends with the members of NA, he split to pursue BRUTAL TRUTH in 1992, a project that consumed him for six years. When asked if there were any hard feelings regarding the "Something Wicked' record, he responds earnestly. "No, didn’t bother me at all. I’m glad they did, because I would have felt more guilty if they would have just stopped immediately after I quit. I didn’t have a problem with it at all. I realized that I was the one that was leaving and kind of fucking ‘em over temporarily (laughs), so I didn’t have any issues with that."
Over the next few years, workaholic Lilker remained exceptionally busy, dishing out the blazing death metal of BRUTAL TRUTH and gore-metal grind of THE RAVENOUS, as well re-uniting with S.O.D. for an album and even working briefly with Germany's HOLY MOSES. But eventually, Lilker began to notice the public's interest in classic NA material, as the band got together in March of '02 to play the New Jersey Metalfest. "The first show we did was that NJ Metalfest," he explains. "So you’re playing in front of over 1000 people, then when you’re just walking around the gig, just the reaction I was getting from people that were coming up, 'So, are you guys back?' and 'Are you gonna do a record?' or 'Are you guys doing more shows?' -- Such enthusiasm, such genuine excitement that people seemed to have about us being back again. We said, 'Fuck, it seems like people want a record!'. So, we hooked up with the dude from Screaming Ferrett who put out “Alive Again.” And we decided to go with him to do a full-length record, even though it’s a small label. We could have gone on some bidding war with Century Media or Metal Blade or labels like that. But we felt more comfortable with that label because he didn’t have a lot of bands on it. We knew we’d be a big priority and with the internet and all, it’s easier for small labels to promote their shit. You don’t have to pay $200 for a quarter-page ad in a national magazine. You can have a website that promotes the band."
The 2005 album, "Third World Genocide" is a surprisingly back-to-basics record, in many ways recalling the early "Game Over" sessions. When Dan explains the way the album was conceived, it all makes sense. "When I knew we were gonna make a record, before I moved away from NYC (I live in Rochester now), John and I got together when we lived a mile apart. John had a bunch of stuff already written, and when it came time to record it or even when we were writing, we just wrote NUCLEAR ASSAULT material. We did what we always do, which is hang out, get some beer, and write some music. It just came out natural. As far as recording it, we did it at the studio of the guy Tim that runs the label up in NH. He has a good old-fashioned regular 80s type thing with a 2” tape machine. Basically instead of doing all digital production or stuff we could have done, we did it the way we always did, so it came out nice and thick and warm. It sounds like a good thrash album." When asked about reactions to the new record, Dan seems quite pleased. "I’d rather get good reviews from the kids coming up to us at the shows. If we’re gonna get good reviews, I’d rather have them from the kids than the press because people ultimately make their own decisions about whether they like something or not." It could be a while until the NA boys get the opportunity for such encounters, as touring is temporarily on hold. "As far as touring plans, its all up in the air right now. People have personal obligations more now than in the old days. People have kids and families and obligations, so that will come when it comes. We don’t have any plans for the rest of 2005."
It's somewhat mindblowing when you take the time to unravel the resume and past achievements of both NUCLEAR ASSAULT and Dan Lilker. Many bass players that we encounter seem content to lurk in the background or do session work in their spare time, but not Danny. He's been a driving contributor in four well-known extreme metal bands over the last twenty years, each producing multiple albums and multi-city tours. And that's not including side projects, guest appearances, or anything else that may have slipped his mind. Well, it's time to go. Dan's got some microwave pizza to heat up.
OFFICIAL SITE: www.nuclearassault.us
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