Semi0n - Nuclear Attack

A concept album goes one of two ways, it is either lauded as genius or is discarded as a single minded mistake. Sadly Semi0n's Nuclear Attack falls under the latter. The concept, as you might of guessed, is nuclear war, with the seven tracks here leading us through the lead-up, the blast itself and the aftermath.

Whilst Semi0n could be applauded for carrying out such an off the wall idea with such vivid detail, the tracks are completely unaccesible. There is lack of 'music' here, with more the emphasis on sounds and noises which become extremely tedious after 13 and a half minutes of 'The Unquiet Peace'. The only worthwhile venture here is the second track, 'Nuclear Attack', which boasts a keyboard-led structure, and is quite intense with a really charged pace and the feeling that it is definitely leading us somewhere.

This proves a false dawn as 'The Blast', 'All That Remains Is' and 'The Unquiet Peace' are just in the main fuzzy radio transmissions that make very little sense, with the odd echo or footstep heard in the background. The closer, 'The Shape of Things to Come', attempts to claw back some credibility, encorporating some crunching guitars and drums which probably have dust on them by now, through lack of use during the recording session.

The concept, it cannot be denied, is original, but Nuclear Attack is just too out there to be taken seriously as music.