Nuse

The proverbial mayhem severely hit the speakers and monitors this past Friday on WVOX in New York as hosts Matthew O'Shaughnessy and Tony Gizzo were invaded by New Jersey extreme bangers NUSE who are celebrating twenty years of bringing their powerful and aggressive METALLICA/SLAYER influenced music to the US. Nuse, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Mike LaMastro, bassist Eric Mangual and drummer Bob Mangual, is a powerhouse metal trio who have been friends for more than twenty-five years. The band has done many shows up and down the east coast on the US and have shared the stage with the likes of TESTAMENT, KING DIAMOND, OVERKILL, CLUTCH and several others of note over their two decades. Nuse's debut album, Hung Well was introduced in 2002 and was re-released in June of 2005. 2008 saw the band unleash Forever Starts Today. Nuse's latest album, unveiled in 2012 is All American Beat Down featuring high-powered, aggressive tracks such as Cracked Eye Socket, Blood In The Streets, Breath & Fluid and more. One of the most under-rated bands one the east coast, Nuse pound it out with the best of them. Gotta love a band who cite SEPULTURA, DANZIG, AC/DC, SOD as groups they like. WVOX.com Metal Mayhem hosts Matthew O'Shaughnessy and Tony Gizzo battened down the studios and welcomed the metal hurricane that is Nuse on their New York radio show. Click for audio of entire interview: - WVOX Radio

Listen to NUSE's - 9/28/12 WTSR 91.3-FM Interview - WTSR

Listen to NUSE's - 9/28/12 WTSR 91.3-FM Interview - WTSR

Listen to NUSE's - 10/22/12 WRCN 103.9-FM Interview - WRCN

Listen to NUSE's - 10/22/12 WRCN 103.9-FM Interview - WRCN

Listen to NUSE's - 8/31/12 WVOX Metal Mayham Interview - WVOX

Nuse are a metal/rock 3-piece from New Jersey that pay homage to their influences (Metallica, Slayer, RATM, Clutch, etc) with a tightly executed groove-focused sound. There are hardcore elements in the vocals and lyrics, sounding closest to Slayer, but the main point is that the band sound like they’re having a lot of fun too. - Independent Music Promotions

Nuse are a metal/rock 3-piece from New Jersey that pay homage to their influences (Metallica, Slayer, RATM, Clutch, etc) with a tightly executed groove-focused sound. There are hardcore elements in the vocals and lyrics, sounding closest to Slayer, but the main point is that the band sound like they’re having a lot of fun too. - Independent Music Promotions

Who’s Nuse? How you guys all met and started this band?
Mike: Nuse is Eric Mangual Bass guitar; Bob Mangual Drums and I, Mike LaMastro on guitar and voice. I met Eric & Bob when we were 8 years old and played for the same little league baseball team…we just hit it off back then. The three of us met up again in middle school. Eric and I had 6th grade study hall together and he sat behind me. We had the same musical taste, Sabbath, Dio…and one day I just turned around and said to him, “let’s start a band; I’ll play guitar.” Eric said, “Cool! I’ll play bass and I’ll get my brother Bob to play drums!”
Eric: Yeah, we went 14-1 on that baseball team and Mike and I helped turn a 4-6-2 double play…at 8! Mike’s Dad knew my mom and grandmother from way back when, so the families would talk during the game.



What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Mike: Eric said, “We’ve ‘hung’ around with each other for so long that NOOSE just fit.” I added, the naming process took so long because there were 5 members in the band at the time, there was ‘No Use’ in trying to make everyone agree on the name…hence, Noose officially became NUSE in 1993.



What are your music influences?
Mike: Metallica, Slayer, Clutch, M.O.D., D.R.I, Suicidal Tendencies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Biohazard, Kiss, The Doors, PJ Harvey, Nirvana, Testament, Dr. Dre & Jay-Z…Oh, Sabbath, can’t forget them.
Eric: Beatles, Lennon, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Metallica, Biohazard, Pantera
Bob: Anthrax, John Lennon, Sepultura, Slipnot, Sublime, Pantera



So tell us more about your latest album, The All American Beat Down. How was the recording and writing process?
Mike: This process was totally different than the first two albums. In the past, we would get together, jam and come up with some really cool riffs that fit well. I would sing some non-sense words to the music that fit with what I was playing with my hands and once I had a melody, we would sit down and write lyrics to the melody. With All American Beat Down, we went into the recording process with maybe two completed songs and wrote the other seven songs while recording. Eric, Bob and I would string together riffs while we were recording and there just seemed to be an endless amount of riffs Eric & I would pop off at will…Bob would be like, “I think we need a different riff in between this riff and that riff and it should be like, rat, tat, tat, tat, tat” and I would just blast one out and be like “How’s that?” While the music just came effortlessly, the lyrics were a task, because I never sang melodies to any of them before…so I did not know if I could physically perform them. However, this turned out to be a blessing, because it did not limit me to a particular melody and I could pretty much just write anything I wanted to write about; and in the end it all worked out. While it would be a challenge to sing a play the new songs live, after several rehearsals, I nailed them down…now they are like second nature. As far as the actual recording, I engineered everything on my laptop. We recorded Bob’s drums in his pool house. We did guitars, bass and overdubs at my place. Most of the vocals I did in my living room while watching Jet games, they had a pretty shitty season which ended up being great for my vocal performance!



How you guys came out with the name (All American Beat down)?
Mike: Bob threw it (All American Beat Down) out there. It’s a concept I like because I feel we are no longer the nation our forefather’s had envisioned and a lot of songs on the album support that notion. I am a full blooded patriot; red, white and blue baby. However, I feel as though we have all been “beat down” as of late, the economy, the increasingly controlling laws, taxes, etc. I feel as though our forefather’s vision has been “beat down.” When this great country of ours was established, the overwhelming majority sought to create a nation with less governmental control, less regulation, less taxes, less corruption…now, well, and I don’t want to become a political band I really just want to play aggressive music, but, there is increasing governmental control and instead of being a capitalistic nation we are becoming an increasingly a socialistic one. Also, I often ponder, and I hope I am wrong on this, I don’t know if many of our countrymen & women even want to be free, or if many even enjoy what freedom can truly be, or if they would die for it. Tell me we are being invaded; I’ll put down my guitar, pickup my gun and start putting bullet holes in the opposition. You know all those radicals we have to deal with? Guess what, we were once a country of radicals ourselves and we persevered and defeated a much wealthier, established superpower. We were hungry, we wanted it. Remember the Roman Empire? What did that last like 500 years as a superpower? They got content, lazy, spread their resources too thin…sound familiar? I think it’s time to start toughening up again. Ask the American I - Vents Magazine

Whenever I hear of the town named Manville, Frank’s Chicken House comes come to mind because it was the first strip club I ever went to! That was many years ago and I’m not even sure if Frank’s Chicken House even exists anymore. You know who does still exist, though? The guys from the metal band NUSE! I recently got an email that said the band was still together and that they wanted a new and young audience to know who they were. Well, I have to say, they don’t write hardcore metal like this anymore! The band still has that old school metal vibe that I loved listening to growing up, but their sound can still fit in with that modern local metal sound that we’re surrounded by today. It’s evident in songs like “Free Tattoos,” “Shine Box,” and “C8h18” off of their most recent CD, All American Beat Down.

The power metal trio NUSE was originally formed back in 1993 by three childhood friends: singer/guitarist Mike LaMastro, bassist Eric Mangual, and drummer Bob Mangual. Mike, Eric, and Bob have been friends for over 20 years and their life experiences together have been translated in their music. Believe it or not, there’s a funny story behind the name NUSE. According to Eric, these friends have ‘hung’ with each other so long, the name, which was originally NOOSE, seemed appropriate. Back then the band had five members and they couldn’t decide on a name, so they felt there was “No Use” in trying to make everyone agree on the name, so they officially started calling themselves NUSE. Since deciding on a band name roughly 20 years ago, NUSE has made a name for themselves, sharing the stage with bands like Type O Negative, The Misfits, Clutch and Biohazard. That’s not a bad resumé if you ask me!

NUSE released their debut CD, Hung Well, in 2002, but then re-released it in 2005 with the help of No Joke Records. In 2008, they released their second CD, Forever Starts Today, which helped the band gain some more notoriety. Back in May, NUSE released their third CD, All American Beat Down, and they’ve been getting nothing but positive feedback on their most recent effort! I guess it’s true that musicians really do get better with age! Check NUSE out now at nuse.tv.
- The Aquarian

NUSE/Hungwell (No Joke Records) This is a great metal core band. Awesome riffs and singing too. This is like a mix of SOD, MOD, DRI, etc. This is old school crossover stuff and it just rips. The fast parts just crush and just everything about this is mint. A must own. - metalcorefanzine.com

NUSE/Hungwell (No Joke Records) This is a great metal core band. Awesome riffs and singing too. This is like a mix of SOD, MOD, DRI, etc. This is old school crossover stuff and it just rips. The fast parts just crush and just everything about this is mint. A must own. - metalcorefanzine.com

Nuse
'Hungwell'
(No Joke Records)
by John Haseltine

With several eps released, selling in many countries around the world and opening for many top name acts, such as Clutch, Overkill, Biohazzard, The Misfits, Pro-Pain and Entombed just to name a few, it's a wonder that a major label had not picked these guys up sooner. If so they would be a household name by now. Nuse are a metal/hardcore band from the heart of New Jersey. Well, Manville, NJ. I believe it's central NJ. Any way, these guys have been tearing up the east coast for the past 12 years. Yes, that long. There are many catchy, fast and furious songs throughout the disk. " Blue Fish, Smoke, Story Of Jed" are just a couple. They say that this will appeal to fans of Slayer, Biohazzard, Pro-Pain, Madball, M.O.D., Anthrax and S.O.D. This is A very true statement. Better put, Nuse sound pretty much like M.O.D. or S.O.D. So if you're into either of these two bands, you're going to really dig this album. Hopefully their partnership with No Joke Records is for the good of the band and you get a chance to have Nuse Tour in your neck of the woods. You've really got to check these guys out.
- Ballbuster Music

Nuse
'Hungwell'
(No Joke Records)
by John Haseltine

With several eps released, selling in many countries around the world and opening for many top name acts, such as Clutch, Overkill, Biohazzard, The Misfits, Pro-Pain and Entombed just to name a few, it's a wonder that a major label had not picked these guys up sooner. If so they would be a household name by now. Nuse are a metal/hardcore band from the heart of New Jersey. Well, Manville, NJ. I believe it's central NJ. Any way, these guys have been tearing up the east coast for the past 12 years. Yes, that long. There are many catchy, fast and furious songs throughout the disk. " Blue Fish, Smoke, Story Of Jed" are just a couple. They say that this will appeal to fans of Slayer, Biohazzard, Pro-Pain, Madball, M.O.D., Anthrax and S.O.D. This is A very true statement. Better put, Nuse sound pretty much like M.O.D. or S.O.D. So if you're into either of these two bands, you're going to really dig this album. Hopefully their partnership with No Joke Records is for the good of the band and you get a chance to have Nuse Tour in your neck of the woods. You've really got to check these guys out.
- Ballbuster Music