Am I the only one who finds absurd the fact that a lot of young fans totally worship the first three EXCITER albums and completely ignore the Jacques Bélanger era, and especially the masterpiece Dark Command? I don’t believe so. Anyways, I love this guy (Belanger) and I also love “The Dark Command” and the “Blood of The Tyrants” and I was very, very happy when i learned about ASSASSIN’S BLADE.
Not sure how to describe them, ASSASSIN’S BLADE are a Canadian-European project that includes members from bands like CULT OF THE FOX, PORTRAIT and DAVID LEE ROTT, as well as Belanger himself. A never-repenting speed/heavy band imbued with Belanger‘s distinctive high pitched vocals.
And while their first album was exceptionally good, this one goes beyond my expectations. The Assassins managed to create a modern masterpiece. In regards to music, things are kept simple: plain riffing without superfluous effects, soaring leads, fast paced songs and Belanger delivering a full dose of insanity. The songs are quite memorable, simple yet with an old school notoriety that reminded me of EXCITER – yes, the ’90s stuff, OK? –, IRON CROSS, early ICED EARTH, early OVERKILL, the speed metal scene (AGENT STEEL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and HEATHEN) and many others. Even though the band keeps strong connections to the ’80s metal era, it do not just stay there. Songs like “The Thaumaturge”, “The City that Waits”, “I of The Storm”, “Soil of The Dead” or “Dream Savant” have some more power metal influences especially in the choruses and the melodies which makes them quite interesting. The sound quality is great: powerful, modern yet not modernized, focusing on both the vocals and the guitars.
Last but not least the cover art is great. I’d say that this is a definitely “buy or die” album and one of the best moments of 2019. Cheerz!
