Back again to good ol Australia for another dose of the good shit.  Kick ass albums of the black/death and black/thrash persuasion have been flowing out of that country continent for years now, and 2008’s Salvation Like Destruction, the excellent debut from Assaulter was definitely one of the most noteworthy of the multitudes.  Now back and signed to mega-label Metal Blade, Assaulter has brought forth the follow-up in Boundless!, a solid album of hard-hitting blackened  thrash that shows a good deal of growth and maturation while still managing to capture the raw essence of the debut’s warring spirit. 

Comparisons to grandpappys Destroyer 666 are obviously inescapable but not at all problematic or unexpected for a band led by Berserker, who spent several years as their bassist, and while Assaulter’s debut followed in the footsteps a little closely at times, Boundless! sees the band making a few tweaks to the band’s sound thus creating a bit more sonic distance between the two bands.  The first and most obvious difference between the two albums is the immense improvement in production value.  Salvation like Destruction, though it more than made up for it in quality of songwriting, was plagued by a terribly muddy sound quality, and possessed one of the most bizarre guitar tones I’ve ever heard on a metal album.  It was slightly off-putting, and it really says a lot about the quality of the material that the album is held in such high regard despite these shortfalls.

The songs on Boundless! seem to have a bit more of a classic thrash bent as opposed to the more war-metal oriented material on the debut.  “Outshine” and “Into Submission” have a distinct, prototypical German feel while “Exalt the Master” and “Dying Day” feature some stripped down riffs and mid-paced angry swagger that, coupled with some soloing of a quality not found nearly anywhere else in the genre create a very strong traditional metal quality that works remarkably well for the band.  Perhaps most interestingly, “Slave to the King” and “The Perpetual War” include some Middle Eastern influence that was initially quite shocking to hear, but is ultimately quite effective, and would certainly be sure to make Melechesh smile.

Assaulter has successfully avoided the clichéd but often all too real “sophomore slump” with Boundless!, managing to mature as a band, improve on their impressive debut, and even do a little to move the generally (and mostly) stagnant genre of blackened thrash in a forward direction.  Excellent album.

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*Comments:

1.  Entrance
2.  Outshine
3.  Into Submission
4.  Slave to King
5.  The Perpetual War
6.  Exalt the Master
7.  Dying Day
8.  The Great Subterfuge

Total playing time:  40:15

Release Date:  March 11th, 2011
Label: Metal Blade Records

Assaulter - Boundless!

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

May 6, 2011