Nuclear Assault

Nuclear Assault were an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1984 and part of the East Coast scene alongside Overkill, Whiplash, Toxik, Carnivore and Anthrax. Bassist Dan Lilker links them to that last band: he co-founded Anthrax, then was fired shortly after their first album. They toured hard through the 1980s and early 1990s, split in 1995, and returned in various stints before finally calling it a day in 2022.

Their sound mixes thrash, speed metal and crossover thrash. Game Over (1986) opened their run of studio albums, followed by Survive (1988), Handle With Care (1989), Out of Order (1991), Something Wicked (1993) and Third World Genocide (2005). Survive and Handle With Care were their biggest successes, reaching Nos. 145 and 126 on the Billboard 200. The 2015 EP Pounder added four new songs.