Nuclear Venom – Poisoning the Minds (2026)
There’s a particular joy to crossover thrash when it stops pretending to be high art and just goes—the kind of joy that smells like stale beer, hot amps, and a circle pit that forms before the first snare hit.
On Poisoning the Minds, Polish thrash/crossover upstarts Nuclear Venom channel that joy with almost weaponized efficiency. It’s a really fun record—emphasis on fun—that blends the speed and whiplash riffing of classic thrash with the tar‑thick churn of sludgy hardcore. The drums sprint, the guitars screech, and the vocals sound like they’ve been left out in the radioactive rain.
If your playlists run from Municipal Waste’s beer‑splash blitz to the serrated crossover punch of Manic Aggression, this EP sits right in that sweet spot: fast, filthy, and ferocious. Nuclear Venom never forget that extremity is entertainment, and they lean into it with the kind of energy that’ll have you price‑checking elbow pads before the second chorus.
The production is perhaps a bit raw at times, with guitars that scrape and squeal before dropping into sludge-laced chugs that feel like you’re wading through concrete and vocals that may be difficult for purists to hurdle over, but this isn’t a record for them - plenty of bands can varnish and fine tune their sound but not all of them are able to convey the fun they’re having making music. Nuclear Venom bake humor into menace without undercutting the heft.
Poisoning the Minds is the sound of a band who understand that extremity and enjoyment are not opposites—they’re accomplices. It’s fast, filthy, and fun, a blast of crossover thrash that drags through sludge just long enough to make the next sprint feel like lift‑off. Short playtime, zero filler, maximum repayment.
Ones to add to your radar immediately. And maybe to your health insurance.
Written by @jdprosho
No comments:
Post a Comment