Over the course of their fifteen-year career, German thrashers Fabulous Desaster put in the work to crawl out of the local area of Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia into the hearts of the underground. Releasing four demos before their Hang ‘Em High debut album in 2016, their second full-length Off With Their Heads came out in 2018 for Black Sunset before the world slowed down for coronavirus containment from 2020-2022. The time off has paid dividends, as Crucify This! provides the gut punch, abrasive speed with complex nuances that could elevate the band to more people than ever before.
The dual rhythm guitar parts as well as supplementary lines and leads courtesy of Matthes and Jan will saw off heads, containing the adequate finesse and sophistication necessary to steamroll all lovers of this movement. Aspects of Flotsam & Jetsam in their Doomsday to No Place era perk up when checking out the axe passages throughout “Misanthropolis”, while early Metallica next to NWOBHM upstarts flood your headspace during the main verses and slower, mid-tempo chorus for “A Hard Day’s Fight”. The vocals of Jan also sound unhinged, manic, and raspy – proving he could be Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza’s doppelganger when checking into the frantic word barrage that is “Trenchmouth” or the relatively more controlled yet still crunchy “Ten Year Chaos”. Even in the speedier passages, there’s this progressive aura that showcases adept playing abilities and killer intuitive transitions – much like the late 80s/early 90s wave from both the Bay Area and Germany that took thrash to a next level movement. Luke and Andi as drummer and bassist circle the wagons in unison power – taking the relentless “Coffin Dwellers” to insane heights, while the militant “May Your Mother Wear Black” contains the proper groove to gallop ratios for mandatory neck whipping appeasement.
In a just world, Crucify This! should garner as much attention as the veterans like Destruction, Overkill, Testament, and the band whose album they took their moniker, Exodus. Ideal production values, consistent songwriting as well as the right versatile musicianship deliver a third album that’s set to keep the energy levels on the top shelf tier – the lightning bolt in their logo striking as hard as the music you’ll hear.