Assassin (Gr) - Combat Cathedral

Artist: Assassin (Gr)
Release Title: Combat Cathedral
Year: 2016
Label: Steamhammer
Genre: Old-School Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Back from the Dead
2. Frozen Before Impact
3. Undying Mortality
4. Servant of Fear
5. Slave of Time
6. Whoremonger
7. Cross the Line
8. What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger
9. Ambush
10. Word
11. Sanity from the Insane
12. Red Alert

Still one of the scene’s most underappreciated groups, German thrashers Assassin have certainly carved a niche in their scene with plenty of strong releases that has continued throughout their three-decade-plus career. With the four-year gap between releases seeing vocalist Robert Gonnella depart for Ingo “Crowzak” Bajonczak and guitarist Michael Hoffman leaving after recordings to be replaced by Frank Blackfire, the groups’ fifth full-length overall was released May 20th, 2016 on Steamhammer.

As was their style from the beginning, this here was quite the impressive and enjoyable burst of old-school thrash that opts for a strong blend of the Bay Area style and the German breed. The dark, simplistic riffing is a straight-up German style influenced by their homeland, but fuses them with the choppy rhythms and crunchy patterns favored by the Bay Area style which creates a rather intriguing and explosive mix between these two scenes which explores the best virtues of each. Flowing freely with the explosive churning patterns and straightforward riff-work of their German forebearers which carries the intensity and extremity of those acts while still managing to go for the pounding rhythms, dexterity in their rhythms and the type of swarming patterns that comes along with the type of intensity afforded to the band with their Bay Area styled attack. The end result is tight, vicious and thoroughly fiery attack which doesn’t really offer up any real down-points at all in the album, and it’s only dragged down by the fact that it’s a bit bloated here with a few too many songs here. The attack does loose some of it’s luster as it goes on with it’s battering attack, but for the most part this doesn’t affect it all that much.

There’s quite a lot to really dislike with this one which has only a few minor problems stemming from an overabundance of tracks to push the running list past a more suitable length which does offer up more opportunities to get pummeled by their attack which makes this a prime choice for any fan of German or Bay-Area old-school thrash metal.

Score: 95/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:

http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd-digi/assassin-combat-cathedral.html

Sodom - Decision Day

Artist; Sodom
Release Title: Decision Day
Year: 2016
Label: Steamhammer
Genre: German Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. In Retribution
2. Rolling Thunder
3. Decision Day
4. Caligula
5. Who Is God?
6. Strange Lost World
7. Vaginal Born Evil
8. Belligerence
9. Blood Lions
10. Sacred Warpath
11. Refused to Die

Charging forward with utter impunity, German thrash legends Sodom have truly cemented their legacy as one of the ‘Big Teutonic Four’ long ago while have rarely let themselves rest off those laurels with plenty of solid albums afterward. As the three piece’s now worked together enough to form a well-oiled machine, they prepare their fourteenth album to be released on Steamhammer August 26, 2016 as a half-concept album about the landing on Normandy in WW II.

For a band of their stature, there’s almost little surprise to be found here in terms of the music, which is what’s the case here. Tried-and-tested German tinged thrash is what’s on store here, ranging from the prototypical darker thrash rhythms that carry on with the kind of sprawling tremolo patterns recalling early black metal aesthetics while charging forward with the up-tempo thrash crunch, to the bands’ more modern sound of a straightforward groove-influenced approach which carries somewhat more of a melodic accent to their riff-work which manages to go for the slower, more relaxed tempos and sprawling sections that really bring about a more matured and nuanced action against the tight thrashing. In keeping with their past styles as well this even generates the kind of extended instrumental interludes found here that lets the group go for the extravagant sections letting their killer thrash riff really pick up a ton of extra room to really let loose and focus on working out the most mileage it can from these rhythms. As can be told from this, it’s all par for the course with the band here as they manage to once again work their classic sound to a tee, and that is pretty much the album’s greatest positive and biggest strike against it. While some would think that a band with a legacy as deep and rich as they have would think that a stylistic departure or experimental album would be a huge drawback, there’s a small section of the bands’ career just before here that managed to introduce new elements to their sound and it was quite well-done so the idea of continuing to incrementally introduce new material to play with wouldn’t be a big change for them, though as it’s the only flaw here this isn’t all that detrimental at all.

Once again, the band offers definitive proof of their legendary status with a wholly enjoyable and solid effort that continues to be really evocative of what they’re about as long as you’re not expecting this to try anything new which makes this a wholly worthwhile choice for fans of the band, the German thrash scene in general or simply old-school thrash aficionados.

Score: 93/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://sodom.lnk.to/DecisionDayID