Once again, here we are with a band I knew nothing about, even though they originally started in 1986. Such is the case with German act Accuser and their new album Rebirthless, out now on MDD Records. I love some good thrash metal, so how these guys have escaped me till now is beyond my understanding. Hell, this is album # 13 – so I’ve got quite a backlog to dig into, wouldn’t you say? So let’s see what’s what here, shall we?
The first thing I’ll say is that I love the vocals, Frank Thoms’ delivery carving shit up like a great white shark in a feeding frenzy. Alongside him, fellow axeman Sascha Strange combines with Thoms to lay down the sonic equivalent of a Browning .50 mm air-cooled on full auto. Don’t believe me? Give a listen to “Painted Cruelty” and “Ghost of Disease” and you’ll catch on real fast. “Faded Remorse” was my clear-cut favorite, with the rhythm section of Oliver Fechner (drums) and Frank Kimpel (bass) anchoring the driving thunder that was whipped up by the guitars and dirty vocals.
From here it’s onto “When Desperation Scorns” which very quickly became the next arrow in this album’s quiver, bent on piercing the thrashing hearts of the unwittingly. “Fear Denied” should come with whiplash warnings, by the by. The record closes with a one-two punch of “Spiritual Recipients” and “Damned By the Flood”, two tracks that are very different but fit seamlessly within the album’s framework. All told my first Accuser record was a great one. Pick up Rebirthless today and thank me later.
Standout Tracks: “Fear Denied”, “When Desperation Scorns”, “Faded Remorse”, “Painted Cruelty”.