You know that whole "Don't judge a book by its cover" cliche? Well, if you were to judge this album by its cover back in 1990 before we had the benefit of the internet (and Metal-Archives), would you take these guys seriously? That cover is extremely cheesy (I mean that in a good way) and is a perfect reflection of Nuclear Death's music. The songs on "Bride of Insect" are all pretty similar and if you're a fan of grindcore and/or the more bestial black metal bands like Conqueror, Bestial Warlust, Von, etc, then this album should be a fun one.
There isn't anything out of the ordinary here, just 12 songs that were made to break necks and shatter skulls. The riffs here, for the most part, are relatively incoherent as they're masked by the insane drumming, but when the drummer isn't taking his ADD-riddled rage out on his kit, riffs like the sweet one in "Necrobestiality" and the one at the beginning of "Stygian Tranquility" show that Nuclear Death is capable of weaving in some catchy riffs in between the absolute chaos of the rest of the music. Lori Bravo's vocal performance is a definite highlight here, as he sounds like a cross between Sean Killian and Don Doty (Two of the craziest vocalists that define that over the top sound) only a lot more aggressive and at times just downright vicious. The bass playing is also top-notch as it is audible during the moments of the music that isn't being berated with blast beats, and provides some nice fills.
As I said before, every song here pretty much follows the same patterns and they all mesh together to make "Bride of Insect" a highly enjoyable listen, though the track "Fetal Lament: Homesick" does serve as the outlier of the album as it conjures up a sinister feel with its chilling clean intro and darker riffs later on. Overall, any fan of grindcore or just all around spastic and crazy music should have no problem welcoming Nuclear Death and their horrifically tacky artwork into their collection.
Highlights
"Necrobestiality"
"Stygian Tranquility"
"Fetal Lament: Homesick"
Final Rating
Awesome [8.6/10]
