Assaulter-Salvation like destruction

Pulverized
2008

Australia's Assaulter have a sound that reaches back to the very early days of thrash metal. This is very much like pre-1986 style of thrash when the real speed hadn't quite kicked in. Think early Destruction, Kreator and maybe even some "Hell Awaits" era Slayer tossed into the mix. It's not just the guitar sound and the slightly restrained pace that make this release sound like it was done twenty-five years ago. Assaulter obviously loved those old albums so much that tried to replicate the raw production values as well as the style. Indeed these songs contained here have the fuzzy echoes that permeated thrash albums that I grew up back in the mid-1980's. Perhaps that helps give Assaulter's album a more authentic feel or I guess that is what they were shooting for. There is certainly and instant familiarity to this disc. The bone-crushing approach and primitive style is easy to like, but hardly spectacular. They have a fine handle on getting their mid-tempo tracks going and the level of heaviness compliments the sound. Indeed if this had been done in 1985 then it would have been a job. However, that time has long past. So instead this is a good disc, but one of many that doesn't do enough to really stand out from the pack of the many retro-thrash bands going today.