Nuclear Death were formed on March 23, 1986, by Lori Bravo (vocals, bass guitar), Phil Hampson (guitar), and Joel Whitfield (drums) while they were in high school. Nuclear Death cited Venom, Motörhead, The Plasmatics, Witchfinder General, and Discharge as their influences. Their first demo, "Wake Me When I'm Dead", was released later that same year, receiving positive reviews from American and overseas zines. They were notable as at the time very few death metal artists had female singers. Their second demo, "Welcome to the Minds of the Morbid", followed in 1987, on the back of which Nuclear Death signed a contract with Richard Campos from Wild Rags, a record label, fanzine and record dealer in California.