Artillery
By Inheritance

We are at the end of the '80s, and the Danish Artillery are on the brink of disbanding. The two previous records (“Fear Of Tomorrow” from '85 and “Terror Squad” from '87: excellent examples of European speed/thrash from the '80s) were as close to a flop as one could imagine.

The fallout with Neat Records was inevitable: the humiliation of having to design the cover of “Terror Squad” by themselves (!), which was awful… was just the tip of the iceberg. Behind it, there was the need to organize their own tours (notably those with Slayer and Tankard) to try and cover for the label's shortcomings, the lack of production budgets, unjustified interferences, and non-existent promotional activity. Not to mention the disastrous tour in Russia (!) with Next Stop and SortSol, which ended prematurely with an all-out brawl between the audience and the authorities, sending the band back home on a freight train. Duration of the journey (which, among other things, would inspire the intro “7:00 From Tashkent”): five days of frustration, fights, and swearing. So much so that, upon returning home, Jørgen Landau, the first guitarist and founding member, left the band for good.

Fortunately, though, the years preceding the release of “By Inheritance” did not only bring bad news. During those years, the band formed excellent relationships with some key figures in the international scene. With Metallica and Destruction, in the forefront, but most importantly, with the Sultan of producers: Flemming Rasmussen. And it was precisely thanks to a demo recorded by Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios that they found a way out of the tunnel: a contract with Roadracer for which they would finally release the masterpiece reviewed here. “By Inheritance” ('89), it must be said, is markedly different from (and, in my opinion, superior to) what the band had done before, a result of continuous technical and compositional evolution over the years, which led to leaving behind the rigidity of some past solutions to embrace a formula that might be less aggressive and harder to classify, but certainly richer and more varied.

The aggressive speed/thrash of the early days is not entirely abandoned, but rather, much more effectively, enriched with heterogeneous components from different genres, styles, and “traditions” (notably, there is an intelligent and never excessive use of the harmonic minor). The Stützer brothers (Morten and Michael, who have become the main composers of the combo over time), in particular, weave truly remarkable guitar threads, perhaps not as astonishing or dazzling as those in other productions of the time but rich in cues, original and highly effective for groove and “drive.” The songwriting and compositional approach itself have significantly changed: the inherent need for aggression typical of the genre is perfectly wedded with a constant search for non-trivial melodies, refined solutions, and complex arrangements. This, if it might make some purists frown, inevitably enriches the band's sound and musical offering, steering it more towards a classic power-heavy sometimes decidedly aggressive, rather than true thrash (which, even if considered as such, would be rather far from European standards, aligning more with the overseas school).

Surely, the more traditional and intense episodes are not missing (take, for example, the opener “Khomaniac,” among the best tracks on the album, or “Life In Bondage,” probably the most aggressive), but it is the general picture that has changed: complex, articulated, and decidedly challenging from a technical standpoint, made, if possible, even richer by acoustic breaks, arpeggios, and frequent harmonizations. Even Flemming Rønsdorf himself proves to be a much more versatile singer, capable of handling the more melodic episodes with dignity (especially “Don’t Believe” – a surprising semi-power-ballad!), sometimes based on a measured, clean singing, free from the louder and aggressive excesses of earlier works (almost reminiscent of Robert Plant – in addition to, of course, Dan McCafferty – in the hyper-anabolized cover of “Razamanaz” by Nazareth). A far more felt and emotional vocal performance, capable of displaying even a hint of epicness when needed, or willing to indulge in particularly catchy episodes (as in the title track's chorus). Needless to say, once again, Artillery did not achieve the success they hoped for. Even Roadracer proved to be an unreliable label, not willing to invest in the Danish band.

The unjust sales of the album and the profound crisis that overtook the thrash genre at the beginning of the '90s did the rest. Within a few months, the group disbanded, and the members went their separate ways: the Stützer brothers went on to form the backbone of Missing Ling, while Rønsdorf, it is said, ended up joining a Beatles cover band…