UMUR
"Handle With Care" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Nuclear Assault. The album was released through In-effect (a shortlived sister label to Relativity Records) in November 1989. It´s the successor to "Survive" from 1988. While Nuclear Assault weren´t the most commercially successful thrash metal act of their time, "Survive (1988)" and "Handle With Care" both earned them a strong following and the late 80s are probably considered their peak by most listeners.
While "Survive (1988)" was a strong release, it was still at times a bit unfocused. "Handle With Care" is overall a much more focused and mature album when reviewing the songwriting, and a more varied release too. Sure we still get short "spoof" songs like "Funky Noise" and "Mother's Day", which admittedly disrupt the flow of the album a bit, but the rest of the material on the album is very consistent in style and quality. Heavy- and faster-paced thrash metal riffs, powerful organic drumming, a high in the mix distorted bass, and John Connelly´s raw piercing vocals in front. That´s the sound of Nuclear Assault. As mentioned the quality of the material is consistent, but I´d still like to mention tracks like "New Song", "Critical Mass" (that chorus riff is absolutely amazing), "Inherited Hell", "Trail of Tears", and "F# (Wake Up)" as highlights.
Lyrics about fear of nuclear war, environmental issues, animal rights, and political corruption, always gave Nuclear Assault a pretty serious profile, but they are the type of act who understand that such heavy topics are best swallowed if there is room for the occasional humourous moment, so while the above mentioned "spoof" songs aren´t exactly what I perceive as great art, they perfectly balance out the more serious part of the album. The approach is not completely unlike the approach of contemporary artists like Anthrax and Sacred Reich.
"Handle With Care" features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, and upon conclusion "Handle With Care" is just the right step in the development of the band´s sound, and overall a high quality thrash metal release. While the quality is high throughout, the greatest asset of "Handle With Care" is actually that Nuclear Assault have a unique sound. It´s not that they use elements that are unusual for thrash metal, but how they combine those elements and of course Connelly´s distinct sounding voice. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.