''The Plague'' is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by the American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, T ...

. The six-track EP was originally released as a

12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

vinyl record through

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City. The label specifically was for heavy metal and punk rock acts, Notable artist include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, Death, ...

in 1987, and later combined with the band's full-length debut, 1986s '' Game Over'', into one CD by

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

. The EP, which is a "collection of old and new material," was recorded from December 1986 to January 1987 at the Music Grinder studios in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with producer Randy Burns. ''The Plague'' was originally to be titled "Cross of Iron" and to have had a cross as the sleeve artwork. However, the band's label Combat Records cited possible objections that may have come from

religious organizations Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as ...

An ode to Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil

According to a retrospective assessment by Eduardo Rivadavia of

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 ...

, ''The Plague'' is probably best known for the controversial song "Butt Fuck" (later retitled "You Figure It Out"), which managed to introduce Nuclear Assault's dark sense of humor with an "ode" to

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

singer

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...

's notorious car crash. The accident occurred on December 8, 1984, when Vince Neil driving while intoxicated hit another car, killing his passenger, drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving acciden ...

, and permanently injuring the passengers in the car he hit. Neil, who ironically left the accident unscathed, was found guilty of

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

and

vehicular manslaughter Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle. In cases of criminal negligence, the defendant is commonly charged ...

, but he avoided prison by performing community services and paying a substantial cash settlement to his surviving victims. In an interview with Voices from the Dark Side webzine, the Nuclear Assault's bassist

Dan Lilker Daniel A. Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American semi-retired musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He was the bassist for the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member ...

was asked why the song "Butt Fuck" is dedicated to Vince Neil, and Lilker stated:

The whole concept of that song was that it was fucked up that he ince Neilcould get away with driving drunk and killing the guy in the car with him azzle He didn't do any jail time like you or I would. Just because he was famous, all he had to do was some community service and do some public service announcements about drunk driving. He literally got away with murder. We thought he should've gone to prison and got anally
raped Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...
like most young men do when they're put in United States prisons. We made the whole thing funny, but we meant it.

Track listing

Personnel

;Performers *John Connelly – guitar, vocals *Anthony Bramante – guitar *Dan Lilker – bass *Glenn Evans – drums, cover concept ;Production *Casey McMakin – engineer *Randy Burns – assistant engineer, producer *Steve Sinclair – executive producer *Rich Harter – cover concept *Gerald McLaughlin – illustration *Mark Weinberg – art direction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plague, The 1987 EPs Nuclear Assault albums Combat Records albums Heavy metal EPs