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Interview: NUCLEAR DUDES – Weaponized Chaos, Synths, and Carrot Top

By capitalchaostv on August 28, 2025 • ( 0 )

West Coast noise-metal duo NUCLEAR DUDES return with their most chaotic, hilarious, and aggressive release to date — Truth Paste. Blending synth-heavy grind, absurdist humor, and teeth-rattling heaviness, the album marks a new era for the band as they evolve from a one-man studio project into a fully unhinged two-piece wrecking crew. We sat down with founding member Jon Weisnewski and new vocalist Brandon Nakamura to talk about live chaos, the art of simplicity, and why ska discourse can turn violent. Also: Carrot Top.

“Truth Paste” is chaotic, aggressive, and hilarious all at once. Was there a particular theme or feeling you were chasing during its creation, or did it evolve naturally from live performance needs?

JON:
It definitely evolved in the moment from my own lack of proficiency as a player. The only thing that was intentional was writing songs that were “easy” to play live. It’s been most of my life that I’ve been able to fool people that I’m “good at instruments”, but alas, the jig is up.

BRANDON:
I don’t know about Jon, but for me there was only one thing going through my mind through the entire creative process. How fucking ripped Carrot Top has become. Like, that dude is a goddamn Tren tornado. The veins on that dude look like a Snickers bar. Can’t stop thinking about it.

You’ve described the live setup as a logistical nightmare — what’s been the most rewarding or absurd response from a crowd witnessing this chaos in real time?

JON:
There was one show where a regular-looking guy was at the bar while bands were setting up. Just sweatpants and a t-shirt — not a “metal person” at all. I’m loading in and he walks up, hands me a $50 bill and says something like “I just really like the music,” and then leaves without even watching the show. That was both rewarding and absurd.

BRANDON:
I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just show up with a microphone and natural talent. Sometimes I try and “help” set up by running wires back and forth and asking the sound guy for more bass in my monitor.

There’s a clear embrace of humor and absurdity across the album. How do you balance that with the heavier, more serious tones of extreme music without undermining either?

JON:
I probably don’t balance them. I’m sure this music is highly annoying to a large amount of people. A lot of the tone on this record is just Brandon and I trying to make each other laugh. I do genuinely enjoy songwriting though and truly love abrasive metal. So it’s probably just more of an overall vibe of “This is what it’s like to party with us.”

BRANDON:
We go all the way out both ways. Fix it in post.

Brandon’s vocal work adds a new dimension to NUCLEAR DUDES. How did his inclusion reshape the songwriting or recording process for this album?

JON:
I knew when I wanted to start playing live I would need help. Fronting a one-person grind band is a young man’s game. I wanted to write the music and abuse a cheap guitar, and he was my first pick for vocals after our time in White Jazz together. He’s a hilarious and reckless singer for this kind of shit. When he said yes, it helped me focus on writing quick bangers he could wiggle around to.

BRANDON:
I think Jon just has someone to laugh at now.

Your sound feels aggressively modern and unpredictable. What inspires you musically outside of metal and grind?

JON:
A different flavor of nostalgia! Synth-forward music has always been something I’ve loved going way back to Kraftwerk, Devo, Gary Numan, Screamers. More recently I got really into Synthwave and Darkwave — Carpenter Brut, Volkor X, Magic Sword. Plus, synthesizers are a great way to fool people into thinking you’re skilled. Shit sounds incredible, but you’re just pushing a button. Arpeggiators might be the biggest talent hack since generational wealth.

BRANDON:
Last month I got into a fight with a guy who insisted that the fourth wave of ska had already happened. We totally got into it and things almost came to blows. You cannot tell me anything happened in the ska scene after Reel Big Fish. Absolute horseshit.

The song titles — “Juggalos For Congress,” “Death at Burning Man,” “Cyrus The Virus” — suggest a deep satirical lens. Is social or cultural commentary intentional, or just a side effect of the creative process?

JON:
Not much is intentional. The song titles are mostly mine, but the lyrics are mostly Brandon’s. I don’t even know what he’s saying on most of this record because we tracked with a ton of effects.

BRANDON:
Just wait till you read the liner notes. It will all make sense.

If you were cursed to permanently live inside one of your own tracks, which one would it be and why — and how long before you started eating each other?

JON:
This already happened to me. Dirty 20 constantly plays in my head. It never stops. I almost wish I had never written that song. It has devoured me.

BRANDON:
Sad Vicious. If I have to live in one of our songs, I want it to end after 52 seconds, please.

Nuclear Dudes’ Truth Paste is an unhinged, breakneck rollercoaster through industrial chaos, metallic carnage, and absurdist humor. Clocking in around twenty minutes of sensory overload, the album fuses blast beats, noise, synths, and deranged storytelling into a sound that feels like a late-’90s warehouse rave on bath salts. With Brandon Nakamura now commanding vocal duties, the duo reaches new peaks of intensity and unpredictability, offering listeners something that’s as thought-provoking as it is aggressively dumb — in the best way possible. This is extreme music that spits in the face of tradition, laughs maniacally, and lights the whole thing on fire. Multiple listens aren’t optional — they’re mandatory.