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NUCLEAR OMNICIDE
Bringers Of Disease EP

Violent Journey (2014)
Rating: 7.5/10

As if the thrash metal scene wasn’t crowded enough! Along comes Finnish quartet Nuclear Omnicide hot on the heels of their 2013 debut The Presence Of Evil.

Bringers Of Disease is a far better work than I imagined it would be, so that’ll teach me to be so uninterested in modern thrash bands. Far from being a basic revival trip, Nuclear Omnicide are a frantic bunch of metalheads who just get down and dirty in their quest to puke out beer-induced rough and volatile thrash. Y’know what? For the most part, they actual succeed.

This six-track EP is worth getting your dirty mittens on, because it shows that the band have progressed since their 2013 half-decent debut. Once again the band rages hard from start to finish, dragging the listener in via the scruff of the neck and ramming the message home for the full 22 minutes of its duration.

Instead of relying on substandard San Francisco Bay Area riffs or too much Slayer imitation, Nuclear Omnicide instead provide the musical equivalent to being thrown in a garbage van. The drums of Alex Antilla are hurtful, while the twin guitar assault of Kasper Koutonen and Mikael Ignatius is lethal to say the least. The vocals of Benny Raivio (who also plays bass), on the other hand, are clearly alcohol-induced yet riotous.

That’s not to say that Nuclear Omnicide are jokers in the pack. Far from it, because this record is extremely aggressive first and foremost – particularly on the title track, which is all blood, guts and thunder from start to finish. ‘Merciless Butcher’ revels in its groove, meanwhile, reminding me of some of the crossover thrash acts of the 80s teamed up with the likes of Sacred Reich, although more blistering.

‘Ruler With The Iron Fist’ is equally manic, especially with Raivio’s frothing vocals and the frenzied percussion of Antilla. These guys are manic throughout, in fact. It’s difficult to spot an exact influence, except to say that it’s extremely engrossing and solid thrash that doesn’t buck under the weight of current trends.

I truly believe that with some advice, Nuclear Omnicide could become quite a force and spearhead the Finnish thrash invasion. In fact, it’s nice to hear a thrash sound that doesn’t rely on the usual bog-standard mediocrity, because even when these guys slow down they remain totally convincing.

Lyrically it’s the usual stuff, but there’s so much aggression on offer here that it’s hard not to take these guys seriously. While not blessed with the best moniker, fans of old school thrash acts such as Devastation will lap this up. Good stuff.

Neil Arnold

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