Nuclear Holocaust - "The Book of Doom" (Mythrone Promotion/Defense Records, 2020)

Band: Nuclear Holocaust

Title: The Book of Doom

Genre: Punkish Death/Grindcore

Time: 23.17 min

Release date: 21st March 2020

Vote: 78/100

In March of 2020, when the entire world was in full lockdown due to this stupid pandemic, Mythrone sent me three albums in a digital format and, among them, there was "The Book of Doom" by Nuclear Holocaust, that it co-produced with the usual partner Defense Records. But, when the lockdown was finally ended, Mythrone thought well to sent me those album physically. So, after many months (maybe too many!), here you are the review of "The Book of Doom".

It isn't the new album by Nuclear Holocaust but, exactly, it's a compilation made up of 16 songs. Of them, eight are new and were recorded in 2019 while the rest of the tracks was recorded two years before at a different studio for a split, released in 2019 by the same Mythrone with the co-production of other three labels, with Expurgo from Brazil, entitled "Deadly Remains of the Root of All Evil".

Ended the technical infos about this comp, "The Book of Doom" isn't so different from the amazing "Grinding Bombing Thrashing". In fact, all the songs attack and attack with no compromises, spewing forth a raw and blasting death/grind full of thrash metal and hardcore punk influences with the addition of some crust punk/d-beat touches. The variations are very few but the intensity is so much and the riffs are often so fantastic, especially in the second part of the comp, that I think that, if Nuclear Holocaust would play in the same style for many years, they would probably sound great without being boring!

For the truth, I find better, as I said before, the second part. This because the tracks taken from the split with Expurgo aren't only better but also have a rawer production that I like a lot. Among them, I can mention tunes like the ultra-destructive "Armageddon Routine" and the very thrash metal-oriented "Warhead Full of Booze". Instead, speaking about the new songs, they are a bit more various since, for example, "Skog Vegas" (after the studios where they were recorded) is vaguely melodic while "Raw Bitter Evil" surprises for its only 15 seconds circa of lenght. And, if I say correctly, it is the shortest song ever written by the band.

Said all this shit, "The Book of Doom" is a pure massacre in the typical tradition of Nuclear Holocaust, nothing more and nothing less. The only shame is that the new songs don't sound so effective like the older ones. But there is need to say that the former ones are no longer new because, in the meantime, these four Polish maniacs released another split always this year: "East Grind Attack" (Deformeathing Prod, June 2020), that they shared with Straight Hate, another death/grind act from Poland. I haven't listened to it yet... and you?

Tracklist:

1 - Ravenous Deformities

2 - Fungal Violation

3 - Seconds to Obliteration

4 - Raw Bitter Evil

5 - Fucking Decent

6 - Under Oppression

7 - Skog Vegas

8 - Toxic Ooze

9 - LSW of Death

10 - Armageddon Routine

11 - Food Cart of Rotten Inferno

12 - What Lies Beneath the Lies

13 - Zombified by Accident

14 - Warhead Full of Booze

15 - A Stray Missile Strikes Twice

16 - Raped by an Aborted Fetus

Line-up:

Bloodseeker - vocals

XXX-Bomber - guitars

Doomtrigger - bass

Overkiller - drums

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Nuclearmetalpunks

Mythrone Promotion: https://www.facebook.com/mythroneprom

Defense Records: https://www.facebook.com/defensemerch