The Metal Crypt - Onslaught Interview

Interviews

Interview with guitarist Nige Rockett
Interview conducted by Luxi Lahtinen

Date online: May 15, 2025

Few bands have carved their name into the annals of British thrash metal history quite like Onslaught. With a career spanning more than four decades, the band has remained a vital force in the global metal scene, known for their relentless aggression, politically charged lyrics, and blistering live performances. At the heart of it all stands Nige Rockett, founding guitarist, chief songwriter, and the driving creative force behind Onslaught's enduring legacy.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Nige to talk about the band's journey from the raw energy of the early '80s punk scene to the razor-sharp thrash assault they deliver today. From the making of their latest material to the challenges of staying relevant in a constantly evolving music landscape, Nige opens up about the past, present, and future of Onslaught and what keeps the fire burning after all these years.

Nige! How's life in England nowadays? Is it all good or does it suck, eh?

Nige: Shit, as always. [*laughs*] England is shit. I hate England. [*laughs*] I'm trying to leave as soon as possible.

[*laughter*]

REVISITING OLD STUFF

Let's get a bit more serious for a moment. It's been five years since the Generation Antichrist album. What led you to revisit and re-record older Onslaught songs instead of focusing on an album of entirely new material?

Nige: As it's the 40th anniversary of the Power from Hell album release, we wanted to do something special to celebrate it. The original plan was to re-record the Power from Hell record. After some conversations I had with some important people who mean a lot to me and are massive fans of Onslaught and Power from Hell, they talked me out of it. [*laughter*]

I guess they had a good reason, maybe. They said to me, "Would you be happy if the Sex Pistols re-recorded Never Mind the Bollocks or Discharge re-recorded Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing?" I said, "No, I think I'd be pissed." [*chuckles*] That answered the question. He said, "Look, it doesn't always work re-recording a classic album, so maybe have a think about it," which we did. Then we came up with what we think is a cool idea, maybe just to document the history of when Onslaught formed and take it from say 1982 to '89.

Then we had the idea of doing all these cover versions of bands and songs that played a very big part in the formation of Onslaught, what made us want to form a band. Inspirations for the album, what became Power from Hell, The Force and In Search of Sanity. It's much more interesting than just a straight re-record. It tells a story of where the band came from and where we went. Then we thought, "Let's just do some cool re-recordings of songs from each of the albums across that period," and it seems to be working. Everybody seems to be loving it.

How did it feel to return to that old-school approach in the studio, both in terms of recording techniques and mindset, especially when visiting and re-recording those classic tracks?

Nige: We went for a different approach, because most of those songs are still actually in our live set. [*clears throat*] It was cool because we're so familiar with the tracks and we have them very smooth and very cohesive now. All the songs flow amazingly well. We don't really have to think about playing them anymore. We decided to pick the best tracks off of each of the early albums. The very first two tracks that we wrote for the band, "Thermonuclear Devastation" and "Black Horse of Famine," were the first two songs that we'd done for Onslaught. It's a little kind of "Best of Onslaught" from '82 to '89.

[*clears throat*] Recording-wise, it was very easy because, as I said, we play the songs live a lot and we know them very well. We decided to do a lot of the work in Brazil at a studio called Tellus Studio in Rio de Janeiro. Because we worked with those guys before when we were on tour in Brazil. The studio is incredible, and the guys are amazing. It's a brilliant set up there. We thought maybe let's try, because Brazil was a big part of Onslaught in the early days. It was our first international release with Power from Hell. It did amazingly well. "Let's go back to the roots a little bit." The guys kindly offered us use of the studio there, which we accepted.

Most of the work was done at Tellus Studio in Brazil. Most of the tracks were mixed in analog, which is old school. We wanted to catch that vibe from South America, because it is a very exciting vibe. I think the guys did an absolutely fantastic job with mixing the tracks and I couldn't be happier. Maybe we will go back there again another day and do some more work in the future.

When you were re-recording those classic tracks in the studio, did it bring back any cool memories or moments from the early days of Onslaught?

Nige: Yes, you always have little flashbacks. There wasn't a lot to remember about the Power from Hell recordings because it only took, I think, three or four days.

[*laughter*]

It was almost over by the time we'd started. [*chuckles*] You have memories from the studio when you go back. Obviously, there were lots of memories from the fourth album and In Search of Sanity as well. Yes, there were some cool memories about that. We were just making new ones this time around, which was great. I'm just so happy with the way it turned out, because over the first three albums, we had different lineups, three different singers on every album. Now we play those songs live and the fans are hearing all those songs with this band's lineup right now with Dave Garnett on vocals.

It was nice to deliver these recordings for the fans, where all the tracks sound like they were done at the same time, but they sound like they have a cohesion now with the same lineup, the same singer across each track. It's a nice vibe to have on this record.

ANALOG OR DIGITAL

What's your take on analog versus digital recording? Do you feel like analog recording better captures the raw energy and aggression of thrash metal, especially in the context of Onslaught sound?

Nige: I'm all for digital recording just because of the pure speed of things. When we made In Search of Sanity, I think it took around six months, a lot of money, and a lot of stress. I think, with Generation Antichrist in particular, we made that album in two weeks. For me, it sounds 1,000 times better than In Search of Sanity did in 1989. It cost us a fraction, a very small fraction of what In Search of Sanity did. What I do like is the idea of mixing analog. They didn't use digital desks. It was all mixed on analog desks. I think that re-injects some earthiness to it, maybe. It's not quite so clean. I think it worked well with what we did on these recordings, or on most of them anyway.

Are there any plans to perform Origins of Aggression in its entirety at club shows or festivals this year? It feels like a perfect record to deliver live from start to finish.

Nige: That's a great idea, Luxi. We've not had that suggestion yet, but that's a fantastic idea. Maybe let's see when the album comes out and see what comes around, because I think it would be very cool. Maybe we could even play some punk festivals with the covers. That would make a cool set, I'm sure. You never know. It may rise. It might come up. I think it would be a very cool thing to do. Thanks for the idea.

UK VERSION FROM CLASH OF THE TITANS

We all know the "Clash of the Titans" concept from 1990, in which bands like Slayer and Megadeth were co-headlining on the European tour, supported by Testament and Suicidal Tendencies. Have you ever thought about doing a UK version of it, bringing together classic British thrash bands like Onslaught, Xentrix, Acid Reign, and Anihilated on the same bill? That would be a serious treat for fans.

Nige: Yes, we tried it once. We tried putting it together. We got very close. Certain bands have certain agents controlling them. [*chuckles*] They weren't willing to make it work financially, which is a shame, because that would be very cool. Unfortunately, I know Anihilated, because they're very good friends of ours, they wouldn't be in a position to do it nowadays. That would not be possible on their behalf, although it would be amazing because we toured with Anihilated some years back, and they are such lovely guys and a great band as well. That would have been fantastic. At the moment, no, I don't see any options. It should happen. Unfortunately, certain people aren't letting it happen right now.

Since David Garnett joined Onslaught in 2020 to take over vocal duties from Sy Keeler, how well do you feel he's stepped into that role? What fresh energy or elements has he brought to the band's dynamic and sound?

Nige: He's taken it up another level. Sy was a great singer, very well respected. Dave came in and just lifted everything. He adds a whole new level of aggression to the band. He can do everything that Sy did. He has a great range, he can hit the high stuff, all the low stuff. He's got a very versatile voice, so he can do lots of different things. The reviews he's been getting, particularly on Generation Antichrist and now this album, it's been amazing. He's been a great asset for the band so far.

With Wayne Dorman joining Onslaught in 2020 as well, what do you feel he's brought to the band musically and creatively? From your perspective, how has his presence influenced the sound or chemistry within the group?

Nige: Wayne's an amazing guitarist, probably the best guitarist Onslaught has had. [*clears throat*] He's very dynamic on stage as well, which is great. He took a little time finding his feet with writing, but he did contribute some really cool stuff on Generation Antichrist, which was amazing from my point of view, having an additional songwriter here. I think when we come to write again, I'm really looking forward to writing the next studio album with Wayne. I think he's got a lot to offer, now he's established within the band, and I think it's going to be cool. He did some great stuff on this album, just solos alone. He's such a great lead player. We have a great dynamic in the band at the moment. It's just whether we keep that together. [*chuckles*]

How do you feel about the chemistry between the current Onslaught lineup? Would you say the band is a tighter unit now than ever before?

Nige: Yes, we've had some cool lineups over the years. We had a very good lineup around the Sounds of Violence album, VI album. It's very difficult to compare periods, but I think this is probably the most talented lineup we've had, for sure. James, our drummer, is just off the scale in terms of what he can do on the kit. Whatever we throw at him guitar-wise, he'll come up with something absolutely amazing on the drums. He's so tight live. It's improved the band a great deal over the last five or six years, having all these guys on board because they're very talented people.

ONSLAUGHT'S LEGACY

Onslaught has always been a key part of the UK's thrash metal scene—how do you see the band's status and legacy evolving over the years, from the early days right up to today?

Nige: I guess we were probably the very first thrash metal band in the UK. Our legacy stems from that really. It's always noted that we were the front runners of thrash in the UK. We're very proud to hold that position. We always strive to make the best music we can and put on the best shows. I think we never set off for anything less than perfect in terms of everything that we do. That's always our mentality moving forward. While we can continue doing that in a positive way, I think the future is still very bright for us. We've still got a lot to bring to the world of thrash metal at the moment. I don't see anything changing for some time. We'll keep striving to do the best we can over the next however many years.

How would you sum up the past two or three years for Onslaught in terms of success, both musically and as a band overall?

Nige: The last three years have been tough for me personally because I had to take a step back due to some serious illnesses. I've had to step away for a little while. The guys did an amazing job when I was out. We were just playing so many festivals. All the reports coming back were, "Best band at a festival." Everything was incredible. They've done just such a perfect job in my absence. My first show back was at the end of January this year at 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. We've done six shows since, and everything's improving for me now. I'm still only 70%, I think, compared to where I should be.

Hopefully, when we do this tour later this month and in June, it should bring me back to near full fitness, I'm hoping. Fingers crossed that everything's clear for me now. The guys were amazing. I can't thank them enough for keeping the band high when I was away. It's been tough for the last three years, especially for me. We've got through it, and now we are moving forward.

FUTURE PLANS

Looking ahead, Nige, what are your hopes and goals for the rest of this year and into 2026? Is there anything in particular you'd like to achieve with Onslaught or personally over the next couple of years?

Nige: We're so fortunate as a band. We have worked hard for our success, and we've been lucky enough to play in over 70 different countries around the world over the years. This year we have some new ones. We're going to Australia for the first time in November. I believe we're going to be visiting India and Dubai, along with China. We've been to China and Japan before, so India and Dubai will be new. That's another new challenge for Onslaught to break into these new markets. For me, it's just spreading the word of Onslaught as much as we can. I hope, going by the reviews we're getting so far for this album and speaking to all the people I've done interviews with, everybody's really excited about this record. Even though it's not a new studio album, it's capturing everybody's imagination. It's very interesting.

Hopefully, it's going to be a big success, which will allow us to do even more things. The better the album's success, the more shows we can play, the more countries we can travel to, and it builds up the momentum for the next studio album, which is going to be the priority as soon as this album gets released. We start work on that at the earliest opportunity.

As Onslaught has been around for so many decades already, have you ever thought of doing an Onslaught documentary, which would feature everything from live footage filmed by fans, early interviews and all kinds of other stuff that would overall make a great documentary?

Nige: No, I don't like being on camera too much. [*chuckles*] I don't like recording videos and things like that, so that might be a little bit tough. My wife keeps telling me to write a book, but I'm not so sure about that, because if you write a book, you've got to tell all the secrets. [*chuckles*] That may not be too cool either, but you never say never. I think a documentary would be cool, but I don't think it would work in certain ways for us personally, so maybe not.

Alright, Nige. I think that's all I had in mind for this conversation, so thanks a lot for your time and all the best to you and to Onslaught as well.

Nige: My pleasure, Luxi. It's so nice to talk to you again. Hopefully, we can catch up again sometime soon. It's been a long time.

Yes indeed. I hope to talk to you soon again and have a safe trip to the States.

Nige: Thank you, my friend.

Other information about Onslaught on this site

Review: In Search of Sanity

Review: The Force

Review: Killing Peace

Review: Live Damnation

Review: Sounds of Violence

Review: VI

Review: Generation Antichrist

Review: Origins of Aggression

Interview with guitarist Nige Rockett on November 1, 2018 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)