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Assassin > Breaking the Silence > Reviews
Assassin - Breaking the Silence

New bullets - 73%

Felix 1666, September 14th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2011, CD, Steamhammer

I have been in danger of flying off the handle while listening to "The Club", the gruesome predecessor of the here presented full-length. It feels therefore good to dive into some tracks of "Breaking the Silence". Its cover pays tribute to their debut which is still the strongest album of the band and due to this recollection, Assassin blow off steam. The songs do not significantly differ from those of their first two albums while leaving "The Club" in the dust. So far, so good.

Yet the fourth album of the revitalized horde is by no means flawless. For example, it remains a mystery why they recycle two songs of "The Club", "No Fear" as well as "Real Friends". I was expecting only brand new songs, especially after a break of six years. But the laziness of its songwriters is a recurring theme in the history of the band. A further criticism relates to the lack of catchiness. It takes time to find a way through the noisy jungle of Assassin. Their vehemence is admirable, but the relatively small number of memorable parts diminishes the overall impression. Nevertheless, it is positive that the protagonists have rediscovered their juvenile energy and they try to blow the listener away. Almost irascible eruptions such as the opening title track, "Judas" or "Turf War" shine with powerful guitars, angry drums and the fucked up voice of Robert Gonnella. The band goes on a rampage and erases the traumatic experience of listening to "The Club". It is exactly the insanity of the guys which is put in the centre of the production. As almost always, Harris Johns, who was responsible for the recording, has doubtlessly done a good job. The highly aggressive sound leaves the listener no possibility to settle down. In particular the slicing guitars are like a thorn in the flesh.

With regard to some tempo variations, the album does not completely neglect slower rhythms. The beginning of "Destroy the State" can be mentioned in this context. Alarming guitars collide with powerful mid-tempo drums in an evocative manner. This situation reappears during a well involved break, while the remaining parts of the song praise the dogma of velocity. If you like to check out the album, I recommend exactly this number. It has a lot to offer in view of its comparatively high degree of variety. By the way, variety does not belong to the strengths of lead vocalist Gonnella. He does not lack of passion, but he is definitely not able to impress with his limited voice volume.

The restless album ends with the nonsensical "I Like Cola". This tune reminds me of the similarly designed "Space Cake" of AssassinĀ“s compatriots Protector. It seems as if we have found the "all you can eat" buffet of thrash metal. Apart from that, the track appears as a bastard of punk and grindcore while building a bridge to "Junk Food", their classic from "Interstellar Experience". I doubt that it was a good idea to fall back on this lyrical topic, because they should not tell the same joke twice. Anyway, "Breaking the Silence" may lack of authenticity, because the band members do not seem to be men of conviction. A glance at the bumpy development of the band provides evidence for this statement. But their latest output is definitely a solid album and light years away from its disjointed predecessor.

riding the wave of the thrash revival - 75%

gk, April 4th, 2011

Assassin originally started life in 1983 and their debut Upcoming Terror from 1986 is a solid album in the vein of early Destruction but with a clear bent towards classic heavy metal. The band couldn't quite follow up that debut with a quality release and after some terrible luck split up. The band's back now though, following up on the similarly titled demo from 2008 and riding on the resurgent interest in thrash metal.

The album starts with the kickass title song. Breaking the Silence as a song is better than anything the band has done before. Sounding completely possessed and somewhere between Destruction and Razor, this song should make any thrash fan very happy. Raise in the Dark continues the pounding with some more light-speed riffing and great vintage thrash vocals from Robert Gonnella.

The band sounds tight and focused and the riffs are top class. Judas and Turf War continue the thrashing before Destroy the State introduces a more mid paced dynamic and alternates between fast riffs and some mid paced chug. The band sound pretty great on Breaking the Silence. The songs are of a consistently high quality, this is probably Robert Gonnella's best vocal performance yet and the riffs are pretty fucking great. It also helps that the band has a young and hungry sounding rhythm section. The drumming especially adds a fair bit to the songs. The only misstep the band make is the album closer I Love Cola with a punk sound and Tankard like silliness.

Where the band really succeeds is in crafting an album that is unabashedly old school in its songwriting and production but still retain enough modern touches and variety in riffs and structure to keep things interesting. Breaking the Silence will not redefine the thrash genre and there's nothing new on this album but it's still a kickass return to form and Assassin sound fresh and hungry. Well worth checking out for fans of the genre.

Originally written for http://frozenrapture.blogspot.com

Rising to the occasion in a hail of cannon fire - 70%

autothrall, February 25th, 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.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com