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Final Breath > Let Me Be Your Tank > Reviews
Final Breath - Let Me Be Your Tank

More variation might help, but still very solid - 85%

Aeturnus65, March 4th, 2006

I think I stumbled across these guys while cruising the Remedy Records website for information about their assorted power/speed metal bands. Final Breath, having nothing to do with bands like Paragon, instead tends toward modern-day Destruction or Kreator. Actually, I’d rank this album higher than either of those two bigger bands’ most recent releases. For while “Let Me Be Your Tank” is decidedly of the “modern” variety of thrash, it’s still got plenty of nods to the old 80s style in addition to a pinch or three of death metal influences.

In this sense you can pretty much guess what the disc sounds like – razor-sharp riffing, frenetic drumming, and harsh vocals sounding like a mix of death metal growling and thrash shouting. Holding everything together is an absolutely massive production job. Seriously, this is one the best productions I’ve heard for a relatively unknown band, characteristically fitting their style perfectly. Guitarist Jörg Breitenbach may not be the most talented player in the genre, but he does quite well here. The solos are perhaps a bit lacking at times, but the riffs have all the requisite intensity and speed. Drummer Heiko Krumpholz likewise does an admirable job, switching between blastbeat-dominated styles and more traditional galloping double bass rolls. The vocals are nothing you haven’t heard before, but Jürgen Aumann sounds as ferocious and commanding as any other singer in this category of B-level thrash bands.

About the only problem here is the somewhat repetitive nature of it all. After nearly forty-five minutes of this stuff it all starts to run together. Fans of the style will eat it right up, but for those only semi-interested in it, well, it can get boring. Otherwise there’s little to complain about. Everything is done quite well, and most importantly, the feeling is there, that feeling of genuinely played old-school thrash, just updated to a 2004 sound. Certainly not an absolute must-have, but still recommended, even to those not much into the genre. For those into this sort of thing – if you can, find the deluxe 2CD edition with updated recordings/remasterings of their debut disc and assorted demos. I believe I got my copy slightly used for $12, a terrific deal for two discs packed to the brim with powerful thrash metal.