Game Over/The Plague

Nuclear Assault

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Original Release Date: July 1, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relativity
• ASIN: B000003C55
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,024 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great late 80's Thrash, June 23, 2000

By	Daniel Read "Software Developer" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If Survive were in print, then I would recommend that Nuclear Assault CD over this one, but that's not to say Game Over/The Plague is not worth owning. This is late 80's style thrash with a definite hardcore punk aspect to it. Short songs, simple riffs, nearly continuous double bass pedals going. Everything is infused with the nuclear apocalypse imagery that you find in so much 80s metal. The songs are mostly very simple and short, and the lyrics often make me chuckle while listening. A great example is "Radiation Sickness", in which the band screams over and over again, "Die--Slow--Death". Many songs, like "Hang the Pope", are obviously deliberately humorous, but it's hard to tell with many other tunes if they're joking or not. A look at the song titles tells the tale: Sin, Betrayal, Vengeance, Justice, The Plague, Brain Death, Nightmares, and Stranded in Hell. You gotta love this stuff. Lyrically, Nuclear Assault reminds me a lot of bands like At War and Laaz Rockit. It almost makes you miss the unique brand of cold war apocalypse fear that gripped American culture in the late 80s after that TV movie "The Day After".

All of these tunes are great, even if many of them rely on somewhat weak riffs. Anthony Bramante is no slouch, but he's no Scott Ian either. If you are interested in 80s thrash, then you have to check out some Nuclear Assault, especially if you are already into bands like Anthrax, Testament, and S.O.D. A few other reviewers have commented on the production quality of these songs, but I do not have a problem with it. Could it be better? Sure. Are they up to today's super-slick standards? No. But the production is solid, clean, and full.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Thrash Classic, February 4, 2005

By	Ernesto Catalan Valdez "Kastas" (Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Game Over" came out in 1986, a cornerstone year for the thrash genre. SLAYER, MEGADETH, METALLICA, DARK ANGEL, KREATOR, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, DESTRUCTION, all released their creative peaks during 1986 and NUCLEAR ASSAULT is no exception. With John Connelly (Guitar/Vocals) and Dan Lilker (Bass) coming from an earlier version of ANTHRAX and S.O.D. (in Lilke's case) it's no surprise this album sounds very close to what those bands had done. The hardcore punk elements are evident in songs such as "Hang The Pope", with its blast beats and S.O.D. type of humor, but other songs like "Sin", "Betrayal" and "Stranded in Hell" are more in the traditional thrash vein, with fast, technical guitar playing and double bass drumming. The production sounds very clear and powerful, but the guitars lack the punch of future releases (they sound as if they had very little distortion...hard to believe from ex-ANTHRAX members!). It's sad to see such a worthy album released as a "two in one" package. Granted, on this CD you get "The Plague", the band's next mini album after "Game Over", and a good mini album it is, but the CD's artwork and bargain packaging is truly disappointing. If anything, this abum should have been released ALONG with the band's debut EP, which came out some months before "Game Over". I would have given "Game Over/The Plague" 5 stars, but, as I said before, the packaging really diminishes the greatness of these 2 thrash gems. If you're not bother by this, you'll do no wrong in having this in your metal collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars missing track, November 1, 2006

By	anubus - See all my reviews

The cassette of Game Over had a track called Lesbians which isn't here. I think these two releases should be on two separate discs. They should issue Game Over with the bonus tracks "Final Flight" and "Demolition" which were on the Brain Death 12". The Plague should get its own disc with maybe some archival bonus tracks. The music is great though.