Part two of an unexpected double header for the year, Skeletal Blasphemy straps drummer Coady Willis in a ship with Jon Weisnewski and launches that shit into the sun with unwavering punk energy.

Release date: November 14, 2025 | The Ghost Is Clear Records | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp

Wait… didn’t I just get done talking about Nuclear Dudes? Ah shit, I already made this joke. Yes, the project just dropped its Brandon Nakamura-assisted project Truth Paste mere months ago, so imagine my surprise when I get that fabled Bandcamp e-mail in the middle of October saying that there’s a whole new album up for preorder with a single. HUH? It was too good to be true and yet, there I was, blasting out Skeletal Blasphemy‘s title track late at night, as God (or whoever) intended.

This album, like the last one, is a collab project, this time with Coady Willis who’s a pretty celebrated and sought after drummer known for nuking kits for Big Business, High on Fire, Melvins, and more. Just like how Nakamura was a vocalist in the punkier, grindcore-ish realm which made him a great fit to project lead Jon Weisnewski’s channeled cybergrind chaos, so does Willis’ penchant for high energy drumming with more of a focus on driving tracks in interesting ways and big sound. If you’re not familiar with him, think Brann Dailor (Mastodon) and you’re pretty close in style.

Skeletal Blasphemy is a lean 24 minutes like the rest of Nuclear Dudes‘ albums sans Boss Blades which was twice as long as the rest (but also arguably the best so far). Whether by Willis’ influence or Weisnewski’s own predilection, this one’s probably the most straightforward album yet, indulging in a punkier sound with less synthetic inflections (though there’s still plenty to hear) and more organic entropy and melody. The title track for instance is a rocket blast-off of an opener, marrying a mile-a-minute pace with the near-incoherent panic vibes this project’s known for. It’s what stuffy people would unironically put quotes around the word ‘music’ for when describing it, and what Nuclear Dudes ironically did when naming the tab in Bandcamp that houses said music.

Really, some of this stuff I could see working on the wilder songs that Sandrider put out. “Antisax” and the song we premiered last month, “Tastes Like Medicine” – some instrument tones and effects aside – smack of stuff on Godhead or Armada like “Beast” and “Brambles” respectively. Weisnewski’s yell-scream vocals stand out and the melodies are much more collected than the average planet-buster of a Nuclear Dudes track. And yet, those Dudeisms are still here too – “Fully Clothed And Still Afraid” (a send-up of the popular reality survival show, Naked and Afraid) is a synth-bathed, marching track with ample vocal effects. Willis’ resonant drumming matches the mood and it contrasts well between the tracks on either side. “These Machines” and closer “The Octopus” likewise incorporate a lot of robotic tinges I’m used to as a fan.

In the truest fashion, this is a collab album, keeping the foundation laid by the growing number of projects under Nuclear Dudes‘ name, but Skeletal Blasphemy has its own key identity with Willis on drums. It’s noticeable in a positive way and less intrusive than a vocal collab like Nakamura had (even though I ended up liking it a lot). This album is what sold me on Weisnewski collaborating with other musicians and artists as Nuclear Dudes. He’s two-for-two on good, complementary picks and, hell, it even got middling approval from my pal Toni who has not vibed with a single Nuclear Dudes album so far. I’d say this album won’t exactly make the project any new fans, but maybe I’m wrong.

This is all gonna be so cool for some kid or fledgling adult getting into heavy music to find all of these albums and just gorge themself on all the different avenues and methods in which Nuclear Dudes has found artistic solace in, not to mention the growth, tightness, and experimentation over time. Two albums in one year is a lot for any project, especially for someone like me who really appreciates marinating with one for a while before wanting another helping, but the succinct nature makes them hit hard and not feel like wasted effort in a crowded space. Still, I hope Weisnewski lets this stuff breathe more than not – no matter how good the music is, oversaturation can kill a vibe or cannibalize itself and that’s not the right kind of death for a project like this.