If you don’t already know, Nuclear are a thrash metal band from Chile. I was fortunate enough to give their new album Jehovirus a listen (and one more, and one after that), and do a quick interview with Matias (vocals) and Francisco (guitars), read it after the jump.
Nuclear – Jehovirus (2010)
Aaah, reviews. Having to write reviews is not my favorite of chores, but that’s the price of writing for this site and being awesome… The main reason: you have to strike the fine balance between making a careful observation of what the album and the band are about, and not letting your bias get in the way. Now, I’m not a very careful person, and I am very biased, but luckily, Nuclear hit the fine spot with Jehovirus.
From the opening song “Belligerence” to the closing riffs of “Defleshed” you know what you’re in for — technically precise, at moments brutal, but overall well produced (the band has worked with Russ Russel of Napalm Death and Evile fame) and well preformed thrash metal. If I had to find a parallel between Nuclear and a better known band (and I have to, because this review and that comparison will probably determine whether or not you’ll give them a shot), I’d compare them with a bit more thrashy Slayer — that’s the overall vibe I got from the music, vocal and album subject standpoint.
There are no surprises here — don’t expect power ballads, or overt experimentation (and I mean that in a good way), and you’re ready to go. The album packs 9 fast and aggressive thrash songs, and if you haven’t figured it out (which means you probably can’t read – if that’s the case just look at the pretty awesome album artwork) by the album title, it deals with religion. The only education I have on Latin America comes from soap operas, and it’s a refreshing to see some criticism towards religion instead of the constant wave of characters standing in front of saints and praying for them to resolve the pretty stupid plot-line of the latest episode of my favorite soap. But let’s save my non existent social life and what I do to fill that hole for some other occasion — in short, if you’re a fan of thrash metal, fucking check this band out.
Stand out tracks: Acts of Depravity, Asphyxia
For fans of: Slayer, good old thrash metal
8/10
Enjoyed the review? You’ll most likely enjoy the interview then. The member who’ve been kind to answer my questions are Matias Leonicio (vocals) and Francisco Haussmann (guitars).
Dose of Metal: Hi guys! You’re from Chile, and you’re into metal. The only logical question following these two facts is: are you also into mining?
Francisco: Hi mate, thanks for the interview!
Well, hahahahaha the thing with the miners for sure was a big milestone in Chile’s history. Being trapped for 70 days 700 meters-underground is not a joke but happily everything turned out ok. And so you know, yeah, I do work for the mining industry besides music! (not got trapped though hahahaha).
DoM: Speaking seriously now, tell us something about yourself.
Matias: Nuclear exists and been hitting stages with furious thrash metal music since 2005 (with the current line-up) but the band was born in 1997. We have four albums in our discography: “Heaven Denied” (2006), “Ten Broken Codes” (2008), “Mosh Detonation” (2009, free download live album) and “Jehovirus” (2010). Also in 2008, we were invited to record a cover version of Slayer‘s “Silent Scream” for an international compilation promoted by Slaytanic Wehrmacht Russia. Nowadays we’re promoting our latest release and planning a European tour for the summer 2011.
DoM: Some would say that criticism of religion is a metal cliché. Personally I can’t get enough of it. But let’s not get off topic; the album name speaks for itself (not to mention the awesome artwork). What were the motives behind making a themed (concept?) album with a pretty strong message regarding religion?
F: Since we can remember people have always said religion is bullshit, it’s a fucking scam, a sick business and so on, but we haven’t seen anybody doing a real critic or to stand against the thieves behind the church. We don’t pretend to do all that with just one album but at least we think it’s a true way to show people how reality is. Child abuse, robberies, lies and no codes of conduct inside an institution that is ’supposed’ to be the guide for society. Jehovirus is a strong message with a direct artwork that at least will keep you thinking about it. No satanic symbols, no try-to-be blasphemous kid games, just 100% straight opinions and violence against religion.
Nuclear – Asphyxia
DoM: You’ve toured with some big names. Which bands would make Nuclear’s dream touring line-up?
M: It’s a question hard to reply, but all the guys in the band have their favorite or cult bands they would like to tour with someday. Just to name a few: Kreator, Testament, Motorhead, Slayer, Napalm Death, Benediction, Sepultura (the original line-up), Cannibal Corpse. We can imagine nothing but killer gigs, raging crowds full of moshpits & stage divers everywhere, tons of beers… would be definitively an incredible experience.
DoM: The worst thing about being on the road and not being Metallica and traveling in private jets? Any particularly bad experiences you’d like to share with our readers?
F: Every single band gets sick and tired at some point during the tour. You sleep like shit, you can barely clean yourself and being in a van with 5 or more thrashers for more than one week is going to bust your chops somehow. For instance, in Mexico we got a flat tire and we had to be replacing the tire for 3 hours at 3am with -3 degrees … fucking beautiful. Or when we got forgotten at Buenos Aires (Argentina) airport for 3 hours. It’s a shit but those are the things that make a real band. On the other hand, when you got upon the stage you completely forget about it and that’s the beauty of it… the music and the friendship between us.
DoM: Jehovirus is your third studio album. What would you say is the thing that differentiates it from the previous two?
M: Jehovirus is like a mixture between the previous albums but with an additional effort to make it full of anger and musically more complex than the previous two. We had very intense rehearsal sessions and the lyrics writing process was supported by a great work in the studio during the recording sessions (in charge of Sebastian Puente, Nuclear‘s guitarist). Also, the work developed in mastering by Russ Russell was amazing; the sound is raw and aggressive, but technical in many aspects. That’s what we were searching for this record. We worked intensely on the songs interpretation and an awesome result was accomplished on “Jehovirus“. You can sense all the intensity of our live performances in this album.
Nuclear – Sadistic Method For Crime
DoM: Going back to my first question, is making metal (the music, not the real thing) enough to live by? Or are groupies alone worth it?
F: Sadly, not yet. We are working hard to make a living out of this but it’s not easy. You know, South America is far from pretty much everything so you can imagine how difficult is to get noticed in the US or Europe (where the market is). I believe there are a lot of great metal bands in South America and for sure here you can find the craziest crowd of the planet but we need serious changes in terms of music/bands production, festivals organization and labels and/or distros investment. Are groupies worth it? No man, not even a little bit. (maybe a rich one? hahaha)
DoM: Speaking of groupies, our trademark question, cowgirl or reverse cowgirl?
M: Hahahaha! What kind of question! Cowgirl of course, you have more surface to see (a better landscape if you will). In fact you have more elements to play with and you come up with some hot shit in the “ring” hahahaha, but if you are drunk as hell and your eyes are useless and/or the chick is too fucking ugly, then reverse cowgirl is your best move… nothing much to see, just perform… if you can Hahahahaha.
DoM: Do you have a message for Dose of Metal readers and future Nuclear fans?
F: Yeah, well thanks a lot for reading this. We are working our asses off to get this band where we think it belongs after these years so be prepared for more news and hopefully we’ll be thrashing your city sometime soon!. For any queries or just to tell us to fuck off, you can write to info@nuclear.cl or go to our MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/nuclearthrash
DoM: Thank you for your time and the best of luck! Stay metal.
Nuclear: Thanks a lot to you for your support!
All the best!
Make sure to check Nuclear‘s tour dates, because they’ll be touring Europe in 2011, and check these links for music and updates:
Official website
MySpace
Twitter
YouTube
