''Surf Nicaragua'' is an EP from American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Sacred Reich Sacred Reich is an American thrash metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 1985. Since 2019, the band's lineup has consisted of vocalist-bassist Phil Rind, lead guitarist Wiley Arnett, rhythm guitarist Joey Radziwill, and drummer Dave McClai ...

. It was released on October 4, 1988, on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

and follows the band's debut album, ''

Ignorance Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding. Deliberate ignorance is a culturally-induced phenomenon, the study of which is called agnotology. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or ...

'', released the previous year.

Songs

The title track is about

American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the possibility of Americans going to war in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. According to lead guitarist Wiley Arnett, vocalist-bassist Phil Rind explained that the song was about "the Sandanistas and what’s going on in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

." "One Nation" expresses themes of anti-

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

and

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

, being described as "a call for Americans to reject racism and bigotry and work together to improve things" by Alex Henderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. The third track is a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

song, "

War Pigs "War Pigs" is an anti-war protest song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970. It is the opening track from the band's second studio album ''Paranoid'' (1970). Overview The original title of "War Pigs" was "Walpurgis", ...

". The fourth track, "Draining You of Life", is originally from the band's first demo of the same name. The last two tracks are live recordings of the songs "Ignorance" and "Death Squad" respectively, originally from their debut album ''

''.

Track listing

Credits

* Phil Rind – bass, vocals * Wiley Arnett – lead guitar * Jason Rainey – rhythm guitar * Greg Hall – drums * Produced by Bill Metoyer and

* Cover art by Paul Stottler

References

External links

Metal Blade release pageSacred Reich Official WebsiteEncyclopaedia Metallum release page
1988 EPs Sacred Reich albums Metal Blade Records EPs Thrash metal EPs {{ep-stub