Armored Assassin-Damaged Youth

Self-produced
2008


The thrash resurgence of recent years has risen from a few scattered bands into an actual scene in some places. Just like twenty some odd years ago it seems that southern California is once again a hotbed for thrash band activity. Armored Assassin are yet another entry in this increasingly crowded revival and they have been going at it for two years now. Like most of the others bands attempting this style the sound is here could very well have done around 1987 or 88. The prime influences I hear are Violent Force, early Metallica and late 1980's DRI although the overall sound on this album is fairly varied as they do a decent job of mixing up the pace. Largely what we get here is a slab of down and dirty thrash with some 8o's hardcore blasts woven in as well. That last part certainly helps this band to sound at least slightly different from the pack and it's also refreshing as many of today's thrash bands seem to just go straight down the metal trail and forget about the raw speed and heaviness of hardcore bands of the 1980's. Most of the tracks conjured up here are of a straight-up, go for the throat style that relies on just solid blasts of aggression. They avoid having much build-up and just fire directly forward without wasting any time. Their approach also tends to sacrifice some tightness for a more spontaneous sound and that actually turns out very well for them. The production is slightly raw and that seems to contribute to the album having a rough and gritty feel which works well with this sound. Armored Assassin also carry with them a sense of humor on several songs and that's great because the scene needs a few bands who are content to show some character as opposed to just forging along with nothing but grim looks. With the current scene being what it is I think they may have to take a few more chances in order to really get noticed. All in all "Damaged Youth" is a likable album that is easy to get into, the band calls up some of the better elements of the thrash style from two decades ago and present it with a good dose on enthusiastic fire.

http://www.myspace.com/armoredassassin