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, Toxik, Carnivore, and Anthrax, the last of which was co-founded by Nuclear Assault bassist Dan Lilker, who left Anthrax shortly after the release of their first album. Nuclear Assault released five full-length albums and toured relentlessly throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and broke up in 1995. The band reunited briefly in 1997 and then permanently in 2002 before subsequently breaking up again in 2022. Nuclear Assault had released six studio albums to date, in addition to two live albums, four EPs and one compilation album. Their most successful records are Survive (1988) and Handle with Care (1989), which peaked at Nos. 145 and 126 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively. Other than four new songs in 2015 on the EP Pounder, the band had not released a full-length studio album since 2005's Third World Genocide, and they would continue to perform live sporadically over the years before calling it quits once again in 2022. History Early career (1984–1985) After the release of Anthrax's debut album Fistful of Metal, bassist Dan Lilker, a founding member of the group, was fired by the band. He decided to pursue a more aggressive style of music and formed Nuclear Assault with guitarist-vocalist John Connelly, who had been involved in an early version of Anthrax. They were joined by guitarist Mike Bogush and drummer Scott Duboys (later of Cities, Cycle Sluts from Hell and Warrior Soul). They then recorded the first of two demos, which included the songs "Stranded in Hell", "The Plague", and "Hang the Pope". The group's first live performance was at the Union Jack in South River, New Jersey, in late 1984. Bogush was later replaced by Anthony Bramante. Bramante's first live performance with the group was at L'Amour in Brooklyn, New York, in April 1985. Shortly after the performance, Duboys left the band and was replaced by drummer Glenn Evans formerly of New Jersey-based band T.T. Quick. First three albums and rise to fame (1986–1990) The second demo Live Suffer Die was recorded and the band began touring the United States consistently. The band signed a multi-album contract with Combat Records and recorded the Game Over album