We had the opportunity to chat with Chilean Thrash metal legends Nuclear about all things metal, their new album ‘Jehovirus’ and throwing band members out of a hot air balloon. Here is what bass player Raimundo Correa had to say….
1. Tell us a little about the latest album ‘Jehovirus’
R: Jehovirus is our 3rd studio album recorded and mixed in Chile by Sebastian Puente at Audio Custom Studios and mastered in UK by Russ Russell. We could say that’s a mixture between our two previous records. It has the speed and aggressiveness of “Ten Broken Codes” (2008) and the heavy-thick sounding of “Heaven Denied” (2006). For us it is really an upgrade compared to the past albums and of course the fact that it was mastered by Russ, made it even better considering the remarkable experience he has.
2. Who are your influences?
R: Mainly 80’s thrash metal and death metal. Every member of Nuclear has different influences and preferences when it comes about metal music. We could name Kreator, D.R.I., Testament, early Metallica & Sepultura, Benediction, Desultory, Slayer, Malevolent Creation, etc. We always try to combine the power from each band and play it Nuclear’s way.
3. What are Nuclear bringing to the current Thrash revival?
R: We think every band has something to offer and for sure you can find excellent acts nowadays. Nuclear’s composition is strongly influenced is the 80’s thrash metal but always trying to give a fresh sound to it. We don’t try to emulate 80’s sound just because we used to hear bands from that era. We think we bring that fresh sound mixed with the 80’s riffs and composition.
4. Who would be in your ultimate fantasy thrash band?
R: Hard one. Just to name one it would be: Max Cavalera (vox), Dimebag Darrell (Guitar), Marty Friedman (Guitar), Cliff Burton (Bass guitar) and Paul Bostaph (Drums). Not bad, ah?
5. What would be your Top 5 riffs in Metal?
R: 1. Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell / 2. Metallica – Creeping Death / 3. Slayer – Angel of Death / 4. Testament – The Preacher / 5. Kreator – When the Sun Burns Red
There’s a lot more we find amazing but we got influenced by every riff listed above so we’ll keep these as our top 5.
6. You have to throw a member of the band out of a balloon, who & why?
R: We know each other from way back (80’s) and I’m sure nobody’s going to throw anybody out. I’m convinced that each one would say he’s jumping out of the balloon first instead of throwing anyone out.
7. What current bands are you guys listening to?
R: Right now we are obsessed with Exodus, Kreator, Accept, Terror, Asphyx, Iron Maiden… active bands with awesome new albums.
8. Real men play on 10, what do you guys play on?
R: I think that’s something the audience and fans should decide. It would be a little self-referential to reply this ourselves, don’t you think?
9. If you could have written any song what would it have been?
R: Personally, Gorefest – The Glorious Dead. (Francisco)
10. What does the future hold for you guys, tours etc?
R: We are working with a Booking Agency for a couple of months now. The idea is to start a European tour for summer 2011. The initial schedule is tour for 1 month (during June 2011) but if we can find more promoters interested in bringing us over there, for sure we’ll be staying a lot more.
