Nuclear*Sun - Couldn't Have Said It Better Vol. 1

Industrial rock and metal solo project Nuclear*Sun, founded by Tal Kliger, has released a cover EP. There are two trains of thoughts on covers that I have seen often discussed. The first is that covers are unnecessary. If the song is already great then it shouldn't be touched. The second is that covers allow a project to expand their sound palette and allows them to pay respects to others within or outside of their field. I, however, have quite a simple philosophy. Write your cover and, if it's better or equal to the original, I'll listen to it. Though, if you can't match the original's force, then don't even bother. Thankfully, Nuclear*Sun does a swell enough job with most of the covers on the album that warrants "Couldn't Have Said It Better Vol. 1" a spot on my personal playlist. 

A cover of NIN's 'Head Like A Hole' begins the EP. Confessing to one of my self-proclaimed "Industrial Sins", I have never been a fan of NIN. Try as I might to enjoy any of Trent Reznor's output, I always find myself shrugging off the band's songs and move onto other venues of aural pleasure. That being said, Nuclear*Sun's take on 'Head Like A Hole' blows the original out of the water by a long shot. There's meat to this song, starting with a grimy synth line backed by slamming percussion. Tal Kliger's vocals on the song, with the slight whispering echo effect, pairs quite well with the industrial antics. Well done! 



Nuclear*Sun then dives in to cover Rabbit Junk's 2008 metal-EDM hybrid 'February War'. The main difference between the covers is that Nuclear*Sun's cover sounds much more machine-like than Rabbit Junk's. There's a distinct effort to contribute more guitar crunch than synthetic overdrive on the cover in comparison to the original. Speaking of Rabbit Junk, another cover is done for one of J.P. Anderson's previous project, The Shizit. This is a project that I was and still kind of am unfamiliar with as the only research I conducted into this project was for this very song, 'Spit AK'. The original track is a bit of a mess, and sounds like an early demo for what Rabbit Junk would eventually morph into. Nuclear*Sun, then, takes the thrashy electronic track and deliver an appropriate industrial metal spin on it. Despite Nuclear*Sun's attempt to bring this song into the modern age, neither the original nor this cover sound all that great. 

Nuclear*Sun tackles Filter with the cover of their song 'Under'. Again, Filter is another industrial rock band that I never really got into. But, much like Nuclear*Sun's cover of 'Head Like A Hole', Kliger won me over. The boring and drab industrial rock ailments of Filter's original cover is instead replaced with danceable electronic beats and heavy blasts of drums and guitars. Kliger does an admirable job with his voice as well, giving off a slight growling to maintain an edge within the cover. 

Covering Cyanotic's 2005 track 'Insurgence' might seem like a bold move, as the cyberpunk inspired industrial project is very well revered. That being said, the song really doesn't hold up that well against Cyanotic's modern output. Like I said about The Shizit's 'Spit AK', it sounds like a demo of what Cyanotic would eventually become. Thankfully, the cover utilizes wonderful and dirty riffs, gruff vocals, and an all out industrial-dance assault complete with pulverizing backing synths to give new light to the song. 

I was not a huge fan of Nuclear*Sun's take on Mindless Faith's 'Next To Last', however. While it isn't terrible, I feel as if the original track had a very clean electro bassline on purpose with slight trembles of industrial rock guitars sprinkled throughout. Nuclear*Sun's version takes the song and turns it into a bit of an overbearing club track whose individual nuances aren't able to be heard all that well. I did enjoy, however, Nuclear*Sun's breakdown that begins around the three-minute and forty-five second mark. The technicality of it all was brilliant and very cinematic in a sense. 

On top of all of this, instrumental versions of each of the tracks are available. My opinion on these are exactly the same as stated above, minus any mentions of vocals. 

Nuclear*Sun, then, shows off his industrial rock and metal talent by covering various other industrial rock and metal artists. While most of the covers shine brightly, I don't think anyone can really save The Shizit's 'Spit AK' and I believe that Nuclear*Sun attempted to do a little too much with Mindless Faith's 'Next to Last'. Still, even with that said, the other four covers of Cyanotic, Rabbit Junk, NIN, and Filter are very, very well done. If anything this cover EP has let me appreciate Nuclear*Sun and gain curiosity as to how their next album will sound. Seven out of ten! 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Jul 03 2021