VICTIMIZER

Now this is old-school trash! And it hasn't got a damn thing to do with jumping on the bandwagon of the current wave of new/old school thrashers. The members of Denmark's VICTIMIZER play '80s-inspired thrash metal from the very depths of their blackened souls and "The Final Assault" is about calling out all pretenders to the throne. This is genuinely molten metal.

On "The Final Assault", VICTIMIZER unleashes 10 convincing and skillfully written tracks of dirty thrash with blackened edges. Not a second is wasted. This is one of those albums that begs for front to back listens, as every song is filled with great riffs, ripping solos, and memorable choruses. The approach is not a complicated one, but it's not an overly simplified one either. The boys just know a thing or two about creating white-hot riffs that are as tasty as the refrains (check out "Tyrants Genocide", "No Escape from the Jaws of Hell", and "Beast of Slaughter" for just a few examples). But there's more… Flaming solos swirl all over the place and make for some particularly incendiary moments, yet also complement the central arrangements. Variety in the songwriting (within the context of pedal-to-the-metal thrash) makes the affair that much more appealing, the trad-metal shades of "Running Wild in Nuclear Streets" and the hair-raising chorus of "Raise the Fucking Knife" two prime cases.

From the poison tongue and barbed throat of vocalist J. Killheiler come tales of demonic overthrow and genocidal atrocity in a way that recalls a time when metal folk weren't taking themselves so friggin' seriously. The lyrics to songs like "Pentagram Warfare" (e.g. "Powered by the pentagram / black Christ raping battering ram") have nothing to do with sociopolitical ideals and everything to do with good, wholesome Satanic fun for the whole traumatized family. Deadly stuff!