Nuclear Death was an American

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band formed in 1986 in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. They were a very early example of a band in the

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

genre with a female vocalist,Prato, Greg
"Nuclear Death"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved on May 16, 201. Lori Bravo. Their style, which drummer Joel Whitfield described as "deathrashardcorextreme music", was compared to bands like Repulsion and '' Scum''-era

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

."Nuclear Death – Bride Of Insect"
''

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

'', July 28, 2012. Retrieved on May 16, 2017

Biography

Nuclear Death were formed on March 23, 1986, by Lori Bravo (vocals, bass guitar), Phil Hampson (guitar), and Joel Whitfield (drums) while they were in high school. Nuclear Death cited

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Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

The Plasmatics The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theat ...

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

, and

Discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

as their influences. Their first demo, ''Wake Me When I'm Dead'', was released later that same year, receiving positive reviews from American and overseas zines. They were notable as at the time very few death metal artists had female singers. Their second demo, ''Welcome to the Minds of the Morbid'', followed in 1987, on the back of which Nuclear Death signed a contract with Richard Campos from

Wild Rags Wild Rags Records was a record label and store in Montebello, California. It was founded in the 1980s by Ricardo Campos. Though Wild Rags started out as a record store in East LA releasing cassette from bands such as Cherry Street, the zine later ...

, a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

and record dealer in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 1991, the band released their more controversial work, entitled ''Carrion for Worm'', containing many songs considered to be in bad taste, such as "The Human Seed", "Lurker in the Closet: A 'Fairy' Tale", and "Greenflies". ''Carrion for Worm'' featured vocals by

Chris Reifert Chris Reifert (born February 23, 1968) is an American death metal musician, and one of the pioneers of the death/doom genre. Although his music is more death metal than doom metal, he is one of the first musicians that blended the two styles. ...

, singer from popular death metal band

Autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

, on two songs, "Cathedral of Sleep" and "Vampirism". On May 23, 1992, Nuclear Death played a notorious concert in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, with label partners

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. Later that year they released ''For Our Dead'', a four-track single containing a rerecorded version of 1987's "

The Third Antichrist ''The Third Antichrist'' is the third full-length album by the Swedish blackened death metal band Necrophobic. It was recorded and mixed at Sunlight studios in Stockholm, Sweden December 1998 – June 1999, and released by Black Mark Production ...

" from ''Welcome to the Minds of the Morbid''. After the break-up of Nuclear Death, Lori went on to form a new band, Raped, in 2002. Joel Whitfield joined Eroticide in 1991. After leaving the band in 1992, Phil was in Eroticide (1996 to 1998), and Whorror (2000 to 2002). In late 2013, Phil started Feral Viscera. He currently continues to record as Feral Viscera, but decided to re-form Whorror (along with original vocalist Donn Sullivan and original drummer, Mike Wyatt (Genocaust).

Recognition

Nuclear Death's 1990 debut album ''Bride of Insect'' was listed in ''

Decibel magazine ''Decibel'' is a monthly heavy metal magazine published by the Philadelphia-based Red Flag Media since October 2004. Its sections include Upfront, Features, Reviews, Guest Columns and the Decibel Hall of Fame. The magazine's tag-line is currentl ...

'' "Hall of Fame" as entry No. 90. The entry says:

Members

;Last known lineup * Lori Bravo – vocals, bass, guitar (1986–2000) ;Past members * Joel Whitefield – drums (1986–1990) * Phil Hampson – guitar (1986–1992) * Steve Cowen – drums, keyboards (1990–1996)

Discography

* 1988 – ''Caveat''

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

* 1990 – ''Bride of Insect'' LP (

) * 1991 – ''Carrion for Worm'' LP (

) * 1992 – ''For Our Dead'' EP/cassette tape (

) * 1992 – ''All Creatures Great and Eaten'' cassette tape * 1996 – ''The Planet Cachexial'' CD (Cat's Meow Records) * 2000 – ''Harmony Drinks of Me'' CD (Cat's Meow Records)

DVDs

* ???? – ''Unalive in Texas'' VHS * ???? – ''The Profligacy Video'' VHS

References

External links

*
Bride of Insect/Carrion for Worm review on Vampire Magazine

Bride of Insect/Carrion for Worm review on VS Webzine
{{Authority control American death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups from Phoenix, Arizona Heavy metal musical groups from Arizona American musical quartets 1986 establishments in Arizona