The Plague
EP by
Nuclear Assault
ReleasedMarch 1987 (March 1987)
RecordedDecember 1986 – January 1987
StudioThe Music Grinder in Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length22:26
LabelCombat
ProducerRandy Burns, Steve Sinclair
Nuclear Assault chronology
Game Over
(1986)		 The Plague
(1987)		 Survive
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[2]

The Plague is the second extended play by the American thrash metal band Nuclear Assault. The six-track EP was originally released as a 12-inch vinyl record through Combat Records in 1987, and later combined with the band's full-length debut, 1986's Game Over, into one CD by Relativity Records.[3]

The EP, which is a "collection of old and new material,"[4] was recorded from December 1986 to January 1987 at the Music Grinder studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Randy Burns.[5] The Plague was originally to be titled "Cross of Iron" and to have had a cross as the sleeve artwork. However, the band's label Combat Records cited possible objections that may have come from religious organizations.[4]

An ode to Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil

Nuclear Assault made fun of Vince Neil's car crash

According to a retrospective assessment by Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic, The Plague is probably best known for the controversial song "Butt Fuck" (later retitled "You Figure It Out"),[6] which managed to introduce Nuclear Assault's dark sense of humor with an "ode" to Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil's notorious car crash.[7]

The accident occurred on December 8, 1984,[8] when Vince Neil driving while intoxicated hit another car, killing his passenger, drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of Hanoi Rocks, and permanently injuring the passengers in the car he hit.[9] Neil, who ironically left the accident unscathed, was found guilty of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter, but he avoided prison by performing community services and paying a substantial cash settlement to his surviving victims.[9]

In an interview with Voices from the Dark Side webzine, the Nuclear Assault's bassist Dan Lilker was asked why the song "Butt Fuck" is dedicated to Vince Neil, and Lilker stated:

The whole concept of that song was that it was fucked up that he [Vince Neil] could get away with driving drunk and killing the guy in the car with him [Razzle]. He didn't do any jail time like you or I would. Just because he was famous, all he had to do was some community service and do some public service announcements about drunk driving. He literally got away with murder. We thought he should've gone to prison and got anally raped like most young men do when they're put in United States prisons. We made the whole thing funny, but we meant it.[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anthony Bramante, John Connelly, Glenn Evans, Dan Lilker

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Game Over"2:38
2."Nightmares"3:56
3."Butt Fuck (You Figure It Out)"2:54
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Justice"4:17
2."The Plague"4:54
3."Cross of Iron"3:38

Personnel

Performers
  • John Connelly – lead vocals, guitar
  • Anthony Bramante – lead guitar
  • Dan Lilker – bass
  • Glenn Evans – drums, cover concept
Production
  • Casey McMakin – engineer
  • Randy Burns – assistant engineer, producer
  • Steve Sinclair – executive producer
  • Rich Harter – cover concept
  • Gerald McLaughlin – illustration
  • Mark Weinberg – art direction

References

  1. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Nuclear Assault - The Plague review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  2. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 247. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  3. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Game Over/The Plague". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  4. 1 2 Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Biography of Nuclear Assault". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 2009-05-30. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  5. ↑ The Plague (Vinyl back cover). Nuclear Assault. United Kingdom: Combat/Under One Flag. 1987. M Flag 13.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Plague > Review". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  7. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo; Franck, John. "Nuclear Assault > Biography". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  8. ↑ Strong, M. C. (1998). The Great Rock Discography. Giunti. p. 555. ISBN 88-09-21522-2. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  9. 1 2 Bukszpan, Daniel; Dio, Ronnie James (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble. p. 161. ISBN 0-7607-4218-9. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  10. ↑ Dávid, László. "Interview with Danny Lilker". voicesfromthedarkside.de. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
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