ONSLAUGHT Guitarist NIGE ROCKETT 'Completely Lost' The Use Of His Arms For Six To Nine Months During Cancer Battle

In a new interview with Thunder Underground, ONSLAUGHT founding member and guitarist Nige Rockett discussed his recovery after a three-year absence from the road following a long battle with illness. His first appearance back was on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise in January as ONSLAUGHT kicked off a year of 40th-anniversary shows celebrating the release of the veteran British thrash metal group's debut album, "Power From Hell".

Rockett endured a number of cancer removal operations, chemotherapy as well as two spinal operations — upper and lower spine — during his forced hiatus, with both conditions now thankfully in full remission/recovery and continuing to heal.

"I'm still a little way off, because of the time I was out and the nature of my illness," Nige explained to Thunder Underground. "I lost a lot of natural strength. I completely lost the use of my arms for maybe six to nine months. So, I need to get all my muscle back, get up to speed with the material. I mean, it's coming. I'm rehearsing a lot every day on my own, and things are coming back slowly. So I think once we hit a good run of shows, 'cause that always gets your fitness going again, I think I'll be okay."

Nige went on to say that he is "still struggling now" when trying to play some of ONSLAUGHT's more challenging material. "I'm up to around, I reckon, about 185 bpm, something like that, 190," he said. "I need to be up to, like, 200, 210 to play most of the ONSLAUGHT stuff. So it is just a case of getting all that muscle memory back again. It's kind of okay on the 'Power From Hell' stuff, which is not kind of as complex as, say, the material on 'VI' [2013] or 'Generation Antichrist' [2020]. So when we start to drop that stuff in, I've gotta be really sort of up on my game back for that. It's coming slowly. I'm putting the time in and it's definitely getting there."

ONSLAUGHT will release a two-disc career-inspiring album titled "Origins Of Aggression" on May 23, 2025 through the band's new label home, Reigning Phoenix Music. Disc one features a fine selection of ten re-recorded tracks from ONSLAUGHT's early days (1982-1989),while disc two presents a colorful bouquet of cover versions of punk and metal songs that lead fans through the range of bands — from the DEAD KENNEDYS, THE EXPLOITED and DISCHARGE to JUDAS PRIEST, BLACK SABBATH and beyond — defining the group's sound. Also to be found on the second part of the album will be ONSLAUGHT's adaption of "Iron Fist", originally written and performed by MOTÖRHEAD, which was the first single off the forthcoming effort.

"Origins Of Aggression" track listing:

Disc 1

01. Thermonuclear Devastation Of The
02. Black Horse Of Famine
03. Angels Of Death
04. Power From Hell
05. Metal Forces
06. Let There Be Death
07. Fight With The Beast
08. Thrash Till The Death
09. In Search Of Sanity
10. Shellshock

Disc 2

01. Iron Fist [by MOTÖRHEAD]
02. Holiday In Cambodia [by DEAD KENNEDYS]
03. A Look At Tomorrow [by DISCHARGE]
04. U.K. 82 [by THE EXPLOITED]
05. Freewheel Burning [by JUDAS PRIEST]
06. Wardance [by KILLING JOKE]
07. Give Me Fire [by GBH]
08. State Violence State Control [by DISCHARGE]
09. Holidays In The Sun [by SEX PISTOLS]
10. Emotional Blackmail [by UK SUBS]
11. War Pigs [by BLACK SABBATH]
12. Drunk With Power [by DISCHARGE]

ONSLAUGHT's contribution to the thrash metal genre cannot be overstated: from their debut album "Power From Hell" (1985),which is being honored with this new release, to their celebrated performances across the globe, they remain an untouchable force in the world of heavy metal. With over 40 years of history, the quintet has steadily continued to evolve, delivering relentless riffs and neck-breaking anthems, and cementing their place as pioneers of the British thrash scene.

The metal world can additionally look forward to ONSLAUGHT's 2025 world tour, where the band will promote "Origins Of Aggression" and celebrate the 40th "Power From Hell" anniversary — including stops in Europe, the USA, Mexico, and Australia — and expect more exciting news in the near future.

ONSLAUGHT's latest album, "Generation Antichrist", came out in August 2020 via AFM Records. It was the first ONSLAUGHT LP to feature new vocalist Dave Garnett, who replaced longtime singer Sy Keeler.

Garnett made his live debut with ONSLAUGHT at the House Of Metal festival in Umeå, Sweden in February 2020.

ONSLAUGHT announced Keeler's departure in April 2020, explaining in a statement that "some things simply aren't sustainable year after year due to the nature of the modern-day music industry."

ONSLAUGHT is one of the most ferocious, explosive and controversial metal bands ever to come out of the U.K. The group released three now-legendary albums in the 1980s — "Power From Hell", "The Force" and "In Search of Sanity" — and became a major influence for many metal generations to follow.

Since reforming in 2005, ONSLAUGHT has performed countless shows in no less than 70 different countries across the globe, earning themselves the reputation as one of the very best live acts in the metal scene today. ONSLAUGHT also has the enviable kudos of being the first international thrash band to perform in Vietnam and Lebanon.

Five critically acclaimed albums were released between 2007 and 2015 — "Killing Peace", "Live Damnation", "Sounds Of Violence", "VI" and "Live At The Slaughterhouse" — with millions of streams between them.

Produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, IN FLAMES, BEHEMOTH),"Generation Antichrist" gathered huge international acclaim, with many renowned rock and metal pundits declaring it the album of the year.

ONSLAUGHT is:

David Garnett - vocals, guitars
Nige Rockett - guitars
Wayne Dorman - guitars
Jeff Williams - bass
James Perry - drums

Photo credit: Korey Rockett and Karen George