Death Assault — Death Assault Review
Death Assault is a UK extreme metal entity. On 13 February 2025, Death Assault released their independent Self-titled full-length — promoted via SaN PR.
Death Assault Review: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Serrated thrash riffing driven by tight down-picking and sudden dynamic pivots — aggressive, disciplined, and structurally controlled. The Second Sin, The Vocals: A raw, barked delivery rooted in thrash urgency — volatile, direct, and cutting clean through the chaos. The Third Sin, The Percussions: High-velocity precision anchored in classic thrash momentum — sharp accents, controlled shifts, and relentless drive without collapse.
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
Threshold of Carnage
The carnage begins with The Masterpiece of Murder, an introductory hymn that greets the listener with a chilling audio-clip—a brief, cinematic breath before the blades descend. This threshold sets the stage for the remaining ten hymns, establishing a relentless momentum that defines the Death Assault experience.
It is an immediate immersion into a soundscape where murder is elevated to an art form, and the music serves as the primary weapon.
Velocity & Fusion
Across its fifty-minute runtime, Death Assault is designed to knock the listener flat on their back. It is a raw, high-velocity fusion of styles—blending the aggressive, riff-driven foundations of thrash metal and the attitude of hardcore punk with an unexpected melodic depth.
Despite its primal energy, the record showcases a solid devilmanship; the composition and arrangement are crafted well enough.
Serrated Dynamics
The dual guitar work of Death Assault unleashes aggressive thrash riffing as its primary backbone, yet it quickly expands into formidable, atmospheric soundscapes. This is a sound defined by sudden dynamic shifts—a volatile but controlled energy that gives the music an ever-changing, unpredictable feel.
Built on a foundation of thrash discipline, the guitars operate with a fusion-metal sensibility, blending raw, serrated edges with a layering of sound that feels both massive and surprisingly intricate.
Precision Impact
The drums serve as the volatile heartbeat of Death Assault, providing a high-energy, precision-focused foundation. This is thrash drumming at its most disciplined, yet it possesses a dynamic control that perfectly mirrors the band’s theatrical shifts. From sharp, high-velocity beats to sudden tempo pivots and tight, driving double-kick passages, the rhythmic patterns are designed for impact.
It is a performance that balances raw energy with surgical timing, ensuring that every transition in the band’s fusion-metal sound is felt with maximum force.
Vocal Blade
The vocals are a raw, visceral force—defined by aggressive thrash-metal shouting and a palpable emotional volatility. This is the narrative voice of the band’s chaos, cutting through dense instrumentation with a razor-sharp clarity that ensures every word is felt.
It is a performance of equal parts bark, roar, and cathartic release, acting as the human anchor for the album’s technical shifts. In the storm of Death Assault, the vocals serve as the focal point, channelling the band’s aggression into a powerful, unified scream.
Cinematic Aggression
The production of Death Assault is a study in balance: aggressive yet atmospheric, layered yet emotionally raw. It rejects the brick-wall philosophy of over-compressed modern thrash in favour of a sound that is cinematic, textured, and deeply expressive.
This clarity allows the band’s internal chemistry to shine, proving that their power comes from precision rather than just volume.
Verdict: Controlled Violence
Ultimately, Death Assault is a jagged, aggressive statement—built on a shared hunger for thrash aggression fused with a bold, atmospheric experimentation that demands to be heard
Closing: The Smoke Clears
When the final note fades, what remains is not chaos, but control — proof that aggression means little without discipline.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
Death Assault’s strength lies in its precision. The controlled aggression, sharp riff discipline, and high-velocity execution create moments that genuinely hit with force. When the fusion elements align, the band demonstrates clear potential and a strong grasp of structured extremity.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The visual presentation opts for a band image rather than a crafted artistic concept. While it captures the group’s identity, it lacks the impact and atmosphere that a more deliberate visual statement could have provided. A stronger artistic direction would have elevated the overall presentation.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
The only notable weakness emerges around the mid-point of the record, where repetition begins to dilute the initial impact. While the energy remains high, the writing occasionally leans toward a more straightforward, entry-level aggression — a style that feels reminiscent of an nu metal and mainstream surge rather than something fully matured.
The Hymns
01. The Masterpiece of Murder
02. Ashes of Reality
03. Replaced
04. We Will Remain
05. Fallen Down
06. Pro Crisis
07. Lament Of The Insane (interlude)
08. My Insanity
09. Forgotten
10. Winds Of The Past
11. Death Assault
Death Assault
Darrell Barker – Vocals
Bill Mander – Guitar
Jake Ackrell – Guitar
Wiktor Osiecki – Bass
Levi Spry – drums