Proselytiser

I have a dream. One day the era of cross-breeding will one day come to an end. Metal's crossing over to hardcore, emo, pop and a thousand other genres will finally cease, and pure metal will come back. Imagine: no more metalcore, no more poppish gothic metal or synth-laden powerless bubble-gum power metal, or crappy grindcore labelled as death metal because of two approximately DM-ish riffs. No more one-fingered Casio bedroom ambient BM projects... Yes, I have a dream, and that dream is not about being able to eat a sea otter without getting sick, but of clear-cut, non-compromizing metal in its various forms taking the center of the stage and staying there.

That dream might never come true, but there are glimpses of hope. Assaulter from Australia is certainly one of those glimpses. Despite being rather difficult to categorize, Assaulter is, first and foremost, Metal, with a capital M. The music is a blend of medium-paced metal, thrashy/deathy riffs, a mean attitude, and blackened vocals. Everything is coated with the unapologizing honesty of real, uncompromizing metal. It's too slow to be real deaththrash, and too angry to be called just heavy metal. Labelings aside, this is what metal is supposed to be: riff-based, rude and aggressive. Good song-writing meets excellent delivery. This made me happy.

The three-song Proselytiser demo has all the defining characteristics of a good old-fashioned two-by-four: it's solid and has its corners and edges intact, it hasn't been spoiled by too much sandpaper, and it cannot be wielded tenderly. You can either be missed completely, or be whacked straight in your face for some serious effect. I got whacked. This is the good, fundamental basic stuff I've been missing without even realizing it. There are no tricks, bells or whistles, and certainly no synths. This demo alone is enough to revitalize my faith in one-man projects.

The coarse production fits the whole like a glove, and I sincerely hope it stays that way on Assaulter's future releases. While the sound may resemble naturally graded 0-8 mm gravel, it hides nothing, and adds to the atmosphere. This is the kind of metal I like to see live, and the honest sound enforces the feeling.

The demo is not perfect, of course. No demo ever is. Part of its fascinating character is the relative slowness, which injects the songs with a sweet dose of extra heaviness. But somehow it still leaves something boiling inside; I'd love to hear the restrained beast let loose, to really demolish and ravage. Yes, Assaulter should make a speedier song or two, lest their pressure cooker explodes.

A minor detail bugged me to no end when I first played the demo. The second song, "Burning Front", opens up with a riff that was instantly familiar. It took me three hours, and some glassy-eyed staring at my CD shelf before I realized it was the opening riff from "Surprise! You're Dead!" from Faith No More's 1989 "The Real Thing". This is certainly not plagiarism; while the said track is perhaps the heaviest on FNM's iconic 80's album, the "Burning Front" is twenty times harder, heavier and meaner. Yup, no avant garde, alternative or experimentation here, just an angry man with a metal 2x4.

Listen to it, if you get the chance. If you manage to be completely missed by the swing of this two-by-four, you have forgotten something fundamental.

Artist: Assaulter
Album Title: Proselytiser
Label: self-released

This is the first demo from Assaulter, an Australian band featuring an ex-member of Destroyer 666. They play mid-paced black/thrash/heavy metal.

Musically, this band is quite similar to Destroyer 666, as might be expected. The three songs on this album are epic, thrash-tinged stompers with plenty of solos. The demo is mostly mid-paced, with a few moments of speed here and there. I'll review each song separately.

The album starts off with a sample from "Dune", which leads into "By the Sign", a rather slow-paced track full of heavy-metal riffing and solos. The vocals here are especially powerful.

"Burning Front" speeds things up a bit, with a ripping main riff and vicious vocals. The thrash influence shows up a lot on this track -- it sounds like it could have been taken from Destroyer 666's "Cold Steel For an Iron Age". The combination of riffing and lead guitar at the end of this one is particularly cool.

"Between Gods and Men" has easily the best guitar theme of the songs on this demo. It's sprawling and epic, and the band takes it through several variations. The chorus on this song is quite catchy, and a distinctive sample from "1984" serves as a break before the solo at the end.

This is one of the best demos I've heard in some time. Yes, it sounds quite a bit like D666, but it's not as if that's a bad thing, so I'm not going to take off points for it. It's nice to hear something this heavy and mid-paced, and the songwriting here is top-notch. I'll definitely be looking forward to a full-length album from Assaulter. Highest demo recommendations.

Standout tracks: "Burning Front", "Between Gods and Men"

Review by Vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net