Assassin - Bestia Immundis (2020)

Not that this is the first cover art hiccup from Germany's Assassin, if you'll recall Interstellar Experience or The Club, but you'd think after over 30 years you really want to present your music in the best way possible. While I've got no problem with evil creatures rising from the muck, this image and the title font leave a lot to desire. In fact, the band seems to look its best when represented by futuristic tanks circa something like Battlezone, so I say adopt those metallic monsters of a forgotten future as your mascot and just roll with 'em. That said, when we're going beyond the surface level, I've never been the biggest follower of the group. Their debut The Upcoming Terror was a good B-list record in the 80s German thrash wave, the two albums after that grew increasingly worse, and then when they tightened things up a little to produce two solid if uneventful efforts in Breaking the Silence (2011) and Combat Cathedral (2016), which showed some consistency and dedication to their early style.

Bestia Immundis sounds better than it looks, a burst of traditional thrash metal which once again stays faithful to the notion that it might have been written several decades back. What this reminded me of most is Sodom, Persecution Mania through Tapping the Vein, with the nasty faster paced guitars always bordering on death/thrash, simple rhythmic patterns that you've heard before, but sound pretty heavy and sincere in these guys' paws. They don't produce a lot of riffs that leap out form the bloody, bruising canvas, but as permutations of those old albums by their countrymen, they sound just too savage to scoff at. The leads are wiry little interjections, bluesy and melodic and produced to stand out from the writhing momentum of the rhythm guitars. Unlike Sodom, the bass got a little lost in the murk for me, but the drums are barbaric and really feel like you've hit a brick wall. The vocals are similar to the last album, and the second effort with this new singer Ingo, as Robert parted with the band after Breaking the Silence. He's got a pretty decent thrash snarl, especially with the nasty sustain on it, but they also use some death gutturals in the mix, reminiscent of how Testament used those on their albums like Low and Demonic, only the throat here is nowhere near Chuck Billy level.

There also some snappy gangbanger chorus parts in tracks like "How Much Can I Take" which are kinda catchy, in fact a lot of chorus parts go for this with varying success. I think one of the biggest letdowns here is that occasionally they'll just erupt into this ripper of a track, like "Hell's Work is Done" or the insane "Shark Attack", but apart from the vocals, some of the surrounding tunes just don't seem as strong, and they just don't have the sorts of riffs that are appeal to the ears for long as the origins did back in the 80s. But, really, that would be too tall of an order, and I give Assassin credit for still sounding coherent, unforgiving and heavy, even though there wasn't much here to continuously draw me back to the album more than a few times prepping this review. I still think The Upcoming Terror is the good starting point and remains their most prominent effort, but Bestia Immundis is nearly on par with Breaking the Silence, and if you're tracking down some German thrash and don't want the usual suspects, these guys are roughly on the level of peers like Exumer, Darkness and Necronomicon; competent and neckbreaking, if unexceptional thrash.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://assassin-band.de/

Assassin - Combat Cathedral (2016)

Teutonic terrors Assassin have had a pretty inconsistent post reunion era since their 2002 reformation, with albums put out over broad span of years that were highly varied in quality. The Club, from 2005, was a complete trainwreck, but six years later they produced Breaking the Silence, an album that in my opinion felt like the natural successor to their minor cult classic The Upcoming Terror way back in 1987. Now, I was never their hugest fan to begin with, enjoying their material a lot less than the top echelon of German thrash (the 'big three') or other, highly underrated peers like Deathrow and Tankard, but that debut is still an album I can spin once in awhile and use as transportation back to that era when I first found the tape in a bargain bin locally. So it's really no wonder that, alongside Exumer and Accuser, this is a band that still harbors some sort of loyalty from an audience weaned on and immortally respectful of that crucial epoch in the genre, even though they're not writing those memorable tunes that Destruction and Kreator have immortalized themselves with.

Combat Cathedral falls between its two predecessors in quality, with enough competence in both the performance and structure to recommend it to anyone who just wants a slab of angry thrash with a production level that places it in the 'now', and songwriting that is very 'then'. I'm thinking of stuff like what Warbringer releases, or the modern Onslaught records after their reunion. Unmemorable for the long haul, but exciting enough in the moment that you just want to shut your brain off and bang your head. Stylistically it resonates a lot of what the last disc had to offer, with pissed off, hoarse thrash vocals that occasional delve into some brutal, lower gutturals or even one track in which it's spun off into a narrative voice. The riffs are constantly busy, interspersed with wailing and wild lead guitars, but in both the rhythm and lead department the material sounds a hell of a lot like that which Destruction and Sodom have been churning out endlessly. A couple vapid Pantera grooves and chugs rear their unsophisticated heads throughout the play length, but they're vastly outnumbered by the speedier passages that, if nothing else, provide Combat Cathedral with some genuine momentum, and break off nicely into the Exodus-like head jerking mid-paced mosh riffs, which match up well with the current events evinced through the lyrics.

There are even some more uplifting, power/thrash sequences reminiscent of the first couple albums by Denmark's Artillery, and I'd add that this all adds up to just enough variation to where I was listening through this without ever really getting bored or exhausted by the redundancies. BUT, that is not to say this is by any means unique, and to an extent, never quite eclipses the feel of an 'also-ran' sort of album which exists simply to prove the persistence of its creators. The new vocalist Ingo is sufficiently angry, and these guys are still shelling out droves of riffing projectiles, but they simply don't always hit their target, and there just aren't songs here that you'd be likely to pick out of a lineup even a few weeks after hearing them the first time. I don't want to take too much away from these Germans, though, because by no means is this a bad try like The Club. It breezes into the qualifying rounds of what it takes to make an excellent thrash record with ease, the sheer instrumentation and drive; but after that is left behind in the group stages, possibly to return in four years, possibly not, but either way, just sort of content to get to the level it did. Assassin hangs in there, reliable if not remarkable.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://joachimkremer.wix.com/meinewebsite

Assassin - The Club (2005)

It's probably a good thing that The Club's cover photo is so hard to take seriously, because you get the impression that the band were laughing at this album almost as hard as you will be. Only you won't be laughing. Because there is nothing funny about this, and as far as the second tier of 80s German thrash bands attempting to recharge themselves through the rush of the 21st century, this must be either one of the worst, or THE worst among them. It's not that I had high expectations after Interstellar Experience, but at one point this was a fairly promising group, and they have returned to that level with their more recent offering Breaking the Silence (2011).

Now, I'd like to note that not every riff on this album sucks, and in fact there's occasionally a tangible, violent energy coursing through it that will seem thrilling and vibrant rather than dead weight. "The Club" itself features Robert Gonella really pissed off and it has a half-decent riff at the offset, but the groovy bass lines and vapid breaks and rock leads really threw me off the scent, and ultimately, like the entire effort, it feels like 70% filler and 30% Assassin. Then it's followed up by a whole slew of dude-bro rock/thrash songs like "No Fear" or "Real Friends" that offer no real value; or even worse, the crappy, creeping "Raging Mob" or the goofy groove metal of "I Swear" which you cannot listen to without cracking up. There's one melodic riff in "Go Insane" that isn't so bad, and I prefer the cover of Thin Lizzy's "Thunder and Lightning" to all of the original material here, but there solemn, tank-strewn apocalyptic landscape of Upcoming Terror just seems so far away...

Not all party thrash is necessarily all that bad. For instance, take Tankard who have often borne a similar aesthetic to this, but succeeded in it due to the frenzied but structured songwriting. The Club feels like a half-assed attempt at such a sound, only the other half takes itself seriously and it all stews about in music that no one is going to care about an hour after hearing it. It's not the crunchy guitar tone, the dorky cover pose or the lighthearted anger here that dissuades the tastes, its just the overall lack of good riffs that make you want to head bang and learn to play an instrument. Next to none of that, really, so I just can't see any reason to recommend this. Better to pretend it never happened and treat Breaking the Silence as their comeback.

Verdict: Fail [3.75/10]

http://www.assassin-online.de/

Assassin - Breaking the Silence (2011)

Hard to believe that it's been 25 years since this German thrash act released their cult classic debut The Upcoming Terror, a good if not great first outing that was cast in the mold of bands like Sodom and Destruction, with a slight tendency towards traditional metal. Since that time, though, the band have been relatively quiet. Their 2nd effort Interstellar Experience was less appealing, and the band went silent for almost two decades before releasing their incredibly weak comeback, The Club. Whereas peers like the German Big Three had all re-established themselves as renewed forces in the 21st century, this band merely flopped on its side like a fish out of water. It is thus with great pleasure and relief that Breaking the Silence is incredibly energetic and refreshing, the best they've written since 1986.

The sounds are not exactly the same as that Golden decade, but surprisingly they've kept their core trio of songwriters together, joined by a younger rhythm section. Robert Gonnella is just as focused and angry as he was in his youth, and in my opinion this is his best showing to date. The riffing of Scholli and Micha is blazing lightning, furious and not afraid to take a few risks, like the impressive tremolo wa-wa that heralds the title track and opener. It's probably the single most impressive song here: flurried, tight and progressive, especially the speed riffing in the verse. But the band does not let up there, thrashing you through urban obliteration pieces like "Raise in the Dark" and "Turf War", each a splatter of efficient velocity broken by staggering, accessible but not lamentable grooves. For slower material, there's the pounding, atmospheric "Destroy the State", but everything else is more of a swift kick to the ass, a mesh of Sodom, Destruction, Exodus and Holy Terror styled riffing and crisp precision.

Perhaps the only real blunder is the closer, the punk-driven "I Like Cola", but Assassin are no strangers to fucking around ("Junk Food" from Interstellar Experience would have words with you. Also, I don't care so much for the songs the band have included from The Club, namely "No Fear" and "Real Friends". They're not awful, but not invested in the same quality as the newer material. Breaking the Silence was also recorded with Harris Johns, so if you, like me, are a fan of his older works in the 80s, including a good number of classics, then you'll probably be happy that he's still able to manage the mixing board for a proper thrasher. It's got the same, dry but snappy feeling as many of his older productions. Now, granted, this album is no Enemy of God, Sodom or The Antichrist, but it's a well executed return to form, and there are at least two great songs in "Breaking the Silence" and "Destroy the State". Legendary fare this might not be. But I, for one, am very happy to have bands like Assassin and Wicca back in proper working order.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.assassin-online.de/

Assassin - Interstellar Experience (1988)

One of the better known of the second tier German thrash outfits, Assassin had a real opportunity to make or break themselves with the successor to The Upcoming Terror, and, well...they didn't really do either of these things. Interstellar Experience is a bit of a strange title, and when I first heard of it I figured the band might have chosen a science fiction concept for the sophomore, which might have been cool, since The Upcoming Terror had its futurist war theme going for it. Sadly, just one glance at the goblin/scarecrow thing wielding the band members in its green claw as if they were mocking the cover of Destruction's Eternal Devastation flushed all of my anticipation down the pooper, and the album itself is really a mess of clashing highs and lows.

It's the same band, with the exception of new drummer Frank Nellen replacing 'Psycho Danger', and for the most part, a similar vibe being created as on their debut, only more intense, and at times, more silly... "Junk Food" might have an idiotic premise, for example, but it's about as close as you can get to vintage, thrashing Tankard as possible, with some decent, pummeling riffs. "Baka", "A Message to Survive", "Resolution 588", "Abstract War" and "AGD" are all bristling with hectic, tactical guitar driven thrash, capable of excessive speed and power (ala Vendetta or Destruction), but ultimately they're lacking the standout note patterns the band desperately needed at this point in time, and the vocal hooks are rarely more than Robert Gonnella splattering like a horde of rodents against an automobile. The cover of The Chantays "Pipeline" is completely disposable, and I found it rather telling that the ominous, synthesized suffix to the instrumental title track was my favorite point on the album...like a mix of the Blade Runner theme with some archaic Yanni album or the Mass Effect score.

Despite its shortcomings, I wouldn't judge Interstellar Experience as being particularly bad. There are moments of sincere, belligerent aggression that tear through over half the tracks, and the musicianship is a step forward from the debut. The production here is also an improvement, giving the album a keener edge that its predecessor. But Assassin have never been a band whose songs really stood out to me, not even through The Upcoming Terror, which was at best only a pretty good take on the 'Big Three' style. Aside from there being a cool spacey segment, and the goofiness of "Junk Food", there's just not much to latch on to here. I sometimes wish that the band had written albums that furthered the futuristic hints they made through the cover art and particular titles, but Interstellar Experience mostly deals in bad lyrics about political events of the 80s, or day to day issues, and that's clearly more of a letdown than the music, which was neither incompetent nor raising the star of these Germans.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (the cease fire is demanded)

http://www.assassin-online.de/

Assassin - The Upcoming Terror (1986)

When it comes to most exciting cover art vs. most underwhelming audio content, The Upcoming Terror must be a contender for any prize. Not that the Assassin debut is bad, in fact it's the best album of their career, but the dreams of Battlezone matches in some fallen future empire are not exactly fulfilled through the music itself. Now, Assassin were one of the heavier German thrash bands of the time, taking their queues more from Sodom and Destruction than anything else, but the apocalyptic churning of their slower, bombastic riffs rarely cedes itself to anything of value, and the debut ends up in that category of record that will transport you back to a place in time successfully and ensure that you don't wish to remain very long.

A general rule here is that the faster the songs get, the better they become. "Nemesis" and "Speed of Light" feel like pure old school Destruction, while songs like "Bullets" and "Fight (to stop the tyranny)" create a more punkish aggression reminiscent of Sodom's In the Name of Evil. The rapid fire fare is complete with ripping solos and don't give a fuck sounding vocals. Where they slow to a crawl, like in "Assassin", they ironically sound like a thrashing alternative to the NWOBHM Tank, traditional metal riffs resonating with the dirtier vocals of Robert Gonnella. A few songs straddle the line ("Forbidden Reality" and part of "Holy Terror"), but I always got the feeling that the band might have been better served with more of a ballistic onslaught than their slower material.

There are no tracks that are necessarily bad, and most do create a nice temporal rift to the raw power of the German 80s thrash, with some variation in the songwriting and obviously skilled musicians at the helm. However, where the cover promises tanks and lasers and firebaths, the songs are not quite so scathing. The notation of most of the riffs is not inherently memorable, and there are no real chorus parts to stand out like a "Riot of Violence", "Mad Butcher" or "Nuclear Winter". Assassin were basically a second rate act on a scene that had already outgrown them. The Upcoming Terror is a bit of a misleading title, since their later albums are appalling compared to this; Interstellar Experience might have a saving grace or two, but their 2005 'comeback' album The Club is incredibly lame. On the other hand, if you find yourself deeply into the 'Big Three' albums of the mid 80s, and just want more of that, then this is surely worth examining.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (pain for the guilty one)

http://www.assassin-online.de/