Assassin
The Upcoming Terror

THE REVIEW

The Assassin personified the "Free For All" of German Thrash, a gigantic musical brawl of enormous proportions, with an apocalyptic feel, essentially based on a sonic cocktail of Slayer, specifically the "Hell Awaits" era, combined with a more cautious writing ability and inferior instrumental prowess.

This quintet from Dusseldorf was formed in 1983 and after several demo tapes debuted in 1987 with this "The Upcoming Terror", which assembles eight shards of "Thrash Attack" produced by Kalle Trapp (who also worked with Pestilence on "Malleus Maleficarum"), played full throttle, uncompromisingly, almost devoid of melody, featuring distorted solos and streaked by the voice of Robert Gonella, a kind of cross between Paul Baloff of Exodus and Milland Petrozza of fellow countrymen Kreator.

Assassin remained on a lower tier compared to the bands of the Teutonic triad Sodom-Kreator-Destruction, quickly falling into oblivion after two record releases, probably due to a lack of inspiration, the vocal tone not embraced by the audience, but above all for the austerity production of their only two discographic chapters.

In this full-length, for example, emphasis is given to the sound of the drums, more explosive than ever. Looking at the situation from a historical viewpoint, the band was born more or less when the other Teutonic groups (see www.metal-archives.com) and despite this, it stayed behind, like the Canadian Razor in the American continent. Why? Gonella's voice appears piercing, like a nightmarish nightmare, yet monotonous and forced over the long haul. Adding to this, the fast tracks lack class to sell, although some episodes are successful like "Forbidden Reality" which has a more complex structure, especially in the introduction, or the instrumental "Speed Of Light" which is a manifesto song of the Assassin’s musical stature. The cover, on the other hand, is well executed and inspired the cover of "Realm Of Chaos" by Bolt Thrower. In "Assassin" there's a slowdown in rhythmic fury in favor of acoustic guitars on a dark background, which then leads into a rocky track, before the arrival of "Bullets" the most devastating piece of the lot, truly a show of strength by the drummer Psyco Danger and a classic in live acts.

The themes of the lyrics tackle the issue of war in all its forms, thus free from Satanic proclamations or metal on metal. The rest of the tracks result on a plane of mediocrity that is not even golden, which over time, however, finds its place in the representation of Amarcord-Thrash, a form of media expression, by specialized magazines and record labels, that aims to magnify and reevaluate bands from the '80s (see Exumer and Violent Force) that were playing the same music as more renowned bands, only to disappear from the world’s stage and reappear with soulless reunions years later. This "The Upcoming Terror" would have been a masterpiece if the bands of the triad never existed: but one must not be discouraged. Assassin will return after twelve months with a formation changed by two-fifths and with a decent album featuring an excellent cover, as well as a Thrash sound influenced by American bands.

In 2003 a new album by Assassin "The Club" comes out: the dreadful cover scares buyers and reviewers around the world.