Germans ABANDONED have cut their debut disc of absolutely old-school thrash, and done it so well that I began to doubt it was actually the end of 2006. What can one add, and how does one characterize a release of this sort?
Everything has already been said before me about hundreds of similar bands -- bands that didn't invest a single drop of originality into writing their album and mercilessly copy techniques from 20 years ago. I don't even have the energy to criticize them anymore. Everything is ripped off from the trinity of KREATOR, SODOM, and DESTRUCTION. The production, apparently intentionally, is made to sound authentically old-school thrash -- slightly raw -- but for some reason you don't feel the aggression inherent to this style at all. As far as one can tell from what's written in the booklet, the musicians wanted to create a quintessential thrash record. How else can one interpret statements like: "The song you will hear are typically ABANDONED: somewhat fast, somewhat melodic but 100% THRASH" Of course, in the band's defense, it must be said that everything is played in the traditional German style and quite competently at that.
But this fact does nothing to raise the score for this disc. Releases like these should come with a big disclaimer: ONLY TRUE THRASH FANS