Take No Prisoners

Chinchilla always came off as a bit enigmatic for a band that made their way into the power metal world right at the turn of the millennium. They just seemed, in spite of having many characteristics similar to other German bands at the time, that they hit their peak in the wrong decade, and a careful inspection of their history sheds a good bit of light on this. Having been formed by Udo Gerstenmeyer in 1988, ergo the height of classic Helloween and the famed Keepers albums, the first inclination would be to expect something similar out of a band nipping on the heels of said album, but in truth, it takes a bit longer for a small group of trailblazers like Helloween to beget an entire scene, which ended up taking shape towards the mid-1990s. Thus, Chinchilla comes off as a typical late 80s power metal band in most respects, bearing all the trappings of where Black Sabbath, Accept and Judas Priest were between 1983 and 1989, despite not putting together a full length studio album until the end of the 1990s.

In keeping with this, Chinchilla's fifth and, to date, final LP Take No Prisoners sees a band mostly frozen in time, exhibiting a few peripheral changes that goes with a shifting line up, but otherwise sticking to what they know. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to confuse most of the songs on here with ones on the last two albums, despite the general demeanor of this album being a bit heavier and streamlined. Some of this subtle contrast is due to Roberto Palacios, who did some guest bass slots on Madtropolis, becoming a full time member and providing a much more involved presence for said instrument. It is at it's most overt on "The Call", which is loaded with low end noodling and even features an almost funky sounding bass solo over top an otherwise conventional fit of fast paced Headless Cross worship, and also the album's lone ballad "Silent Moments" which also somewhat resembles "When Death Calls" off the same Sabbath album at times, but the whole album is chock full of fancy bass work.

Nevertheless, despite not being an overt concept album with the usual structural trappings that adorned The Last Millennium and Madtropolis, the same air of a looming dystopia endures both musically and lyrically. In fact, the entire first half of this album spends its time lodged exclusively in woeful, yet tuneful Tony Martin era Black Sabbath territory, being mostly fast yet not quite speed metal and differing from the original primarily in having a vocalist in Thomas Laasch that sounds closer to Tobias Sammet. All of them are instant classics, but "The Ripper" steals the show with an unforgettable chorus and a generally gritty riff set that emphasizes the harder edged aspects of their sound rather than the lofty ones. The second half of the album gets a little bit mixed up stylistically, as Gerstenmeyer generally feels it necessary to trot out a few token old fashioned sounding rockers like "Money Talks" and mellower grooving bits like "Lost Control" on every album rather than cook the whole way through, but they do end things in territory similar to the first half of the album with "Rich Hounds", though the lyrics are just a tad too overtly preachy and rambling for their own good.

To this day, it's a mystery as to why Chinchilla has yet to put out new material and have generally been silent even outside of the recording studio for the past 3 years. A period of studio silence might make sense given that it was becoming clear that they were repeating themselves almost verbatim with each new LP, but a couple years on hiatus usually take care of that, and it's not like Udo or the others have any other metal projects keeping them busy as was the case with the members of Ring Of Fire who saw a similarly long period of studio silence until just a year ago. If they've hung it up and opted not to announce doing so, they left things on a high note, putting out yet another retro-power metal album that will sit well with 80s metal hounds and early era Edguy fans alike. No prisoners were likely hurt in the making of this record, but it's pretty well established that none were taken either.

Take No Prisoners is a bit of a culture shock if you’re expecting more material like Horrorscope from Chinchilla; not only the singer has changed in the interim (though, to be fair, after having listened to the more mid-tempo offerings Madness and The Last Millennium, it’s safe to say this change has been coming gradually, or at least in fits and starts). The upbeat tempo of ‘I Stole Your Love’ (take a listen to ‘Death is a Grand Leveller’ – definitely more than a bit of Maiden in the galloping rhythm guitar and drums, there) seems to be their default this time around, to the point where Take No Prisoners is essentially a German speed-metal album. They take more than a few queues from Gamma Ray, Running Wild and Edguy whilst retaining the heavy power-chord driven guitar work, aided by the minimalist production, of their earlier material and backfilling it only where necessary with keyboard effects. Thomas Laasch, Chinchilla’s vocalist since Madness, has a high-calibre vocal modulation which floats somewhere between a gritty Chris Boltendahl or Andreas Babuschkin and an incisive, searing Kai Hansen-like tenor, though closer to the latter: combined with this bass-and-drums driven musical style, Laasch’s voice is indeed a commanding weapon. (Come to think of it, Paragon is another good comparison to make for this band.)

As for quality, these killer rodents rip into attack after masterful attack – from the fist-pumping, catchy-as-fuck anthemic calls to arms of ‘The Almighty Power’, ‘The Call’ and ‘Take No Prisoners’ to the dark meanderings of ‘The Ripper’ (Udo has been listening to Grime vs. Grandeur; kudos to him for playing well on the same themes); from the classic heavy bluesy rocker ‘Money Talks’ to the oddly-catchy organised discordance of ‘Lost Control’. There’s no wankery here, no bullshit, just powerful riffs cruising directly at you at a hundred kph. Even the suitably quiescent power ballad ‘Silent Moments’ is quite strong, aptly placed. I keep looking for weak spots on this album, and they seem quite notable for their absence. (‘Stillborn Soul’ still has a bit of fillerish feel to it, but even if it isn’t as strong as the rest of the album it still manages to be heavy and engaging. Chinchilla seem constitutionally incapable, at this point, of producing a boring or a weak song.)

The main quibble, insofar as I have one, is with the sound mixing. It seems rawer and more basic than on Madness or on The Last Millennium, pushing up the treble to the point where it feels like I’m only listening to about half or so of what the keyboards are capable of. But the mixing really matters only to a certain extent. You don’t listen to Chinchilla for crystalline, concert-hall renderings of beautiful flowery keyboard melodies – you listen to Chinchilla to get booted by the bass leads and have your ears gnawed off by Laasch’s masterly vocal-work.

The lyrics on Take No Prisoners may not be headed for a Nobel Prize in Literature anytime soon, but they’re still worth a mention. As straightforward, blunt and effective as their instrumentation, they’re brazenly political and about as left-wing as Martin Walkyier and Mille Petrozza, and easily as pissed-off as about 80% of all thrash metal. The message is simple: capitalism, greed and the rat race are the superstitions which blind modern society from the truth, and they are leading us all to ruin. Under this order, the rich have all of the social and economic power and are using it to fuck over the working class and make off like bandits, so it’s up to the rest of us to put paid to them and take back what’s ours, dammit! Song after song on this album is a variation on this theme, to the point where it becomes practically (sorry) a broken record: ‘The Almighty Power’, ‘Death is a Grand Leveller’, ‘Take No Prisoners’, ‘Lost Control’, ‘Money Talks’, ‘Rich Hounds’. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. A message worth telling is a message worth repeating, it seems!

It’s a damn shame that Chinchilla stopped dead in their tracks after this album – almost as much of a shame as the fact that Chinchilla are so criminally underrated in power metal circles. This is a rock-solid album which easily shares the company of their fellow Germans Gamma Ray, Running Wild, Blind Guardian, Scanner and so forth. This album gets high approval from me.

19 / 20

Chinchilla have been doing the same thing for about four albums now, that being a forceful brand of catchy yet dark power metal. As with a lot of their German brethren, their chosen form of power metal is actually quite far removed from the symphonic, light-in-the-pants stuff that has somewhat inundated the scene nowadays. It’s by no means unique and likely won’t make anyone’s all-time best list, but it’s still very enjoyable.

Chinchilla’s sound can be likened to a mix of Iced Earth and maybe Tad Morose. There’s plenty of melody to go around, but the backbone of these songs is still a driving, crunchy mix of heavy guitars and drums, with keyboards as a very minor part of the sound. The real draw, though, is singer Thomas Laasch. His voice is one of the most commandingly powerful I’ve ever heard in this genre, almost sounding like a very good thrash singer who’s made the transition to the power metal scene. Forget high-pitched shrieking, as Laasch instead makes full use of his natural bellow. If he were in a more well-known band he’d be mentioned all the time as one of the better singers out there. As things stand, his voice is what sets the band apart from all the cookie-cutter acts out there with painfully mediocre singers. Otherwise things are good, but instrumentally nothing really makes you sit up and take notice. Actually, that’s the way things are meant to be – this is a power chord and double bass driven record, not a Malmsteen disc.

Despite the overt heaviness (again, for a power metal album), a lot of the songs on here are catchy as hell. You’ll be humming the chorus to “The Almighty Power” long after the song has ended. There is a ballad to be found (“Silent Moments”), and though it is rather decent if you like them, it does feel like the obligatory tack-on. Still, Chinchilla prove on the other nine tracks that you can simultaneously be both heavy and catchy. Other standouts include the mid-paced “Death is the Grand Leveller” and “The Call” – yep, this album starts out a bit more strongly than it finishes, though the dropoff is minor.

Production is top-notch as well, a very deep, massive sound that properly puts the focus on the excellent vocals. Really, any of the Chinchilla albums, save for maybe the debut, are highly recommended. If metal were played on mainstream radio, Chinchilla would be in heavy rotation, and that’s a compliment. If you enjoy bands that manage to be heavy yet melodic and catchy – I keep thinking Tad Morose and a heavier late-era Nocturnal Rites – I would highly recommend checking out Chinchilla. Ignore the strange band name and the wretched cover art – this thing is a true hidden gem of the genre.