Mindwaves

1 year after their ripping debut album, deaththrashers Assorted Heap came out with Mindwaves. It is interesing that they changed their style only 1 year after The Experience of Horror. The moved into a more creative, experimental, and perhaps even slightly technical and progressive sounds. However, it can't be that surprising as we all know thrash bands were starting to change their styles. While some American thrash bands moved to a heavy metal style sound, some German bands moved to technicality even before the 90's hit, bands such as Deathrow and Vendetta.

Assorted Heap still retain a death/thrash sound here, the amazing production helps make the album heavy and chugging. The guitars sound colorful and fun, while at the same time mean and heavy. The many catchy riffs go fantastic paired with the catchy vocals. Dirk Schiemann has a deeper voice than in the debut, sort of reminds me of Tom Angelripper in Sodom's Tapping the Vein. Also, Dirk makes his voice higher, in a half scream way, this adds a lot of personality and keeps the vocals fresh and interesting all throughout. The vocals and the riffs are the best part of the album for sure. The drums, whenever there is a skank beat, it sounds so perfect and fun. The drums sound amazing and they are so tightly played, they drive the album with a lot of ferocity, again very badass. Just like in the debut, the bass is clear, flowy, and punchy, you cannot have an album of this style without great bass.

The compositions and structures are experimental and creative, but they do it in a way that doesn't sacrifice the fun, it's a very unique album. The songs Coloured Eyes and Nice to Beat You (which for me are the best songs in the album) are great examples of what I mean: they have interesting and unique structures to death/thrash, while at the same time being so fun as they are very catchy and hook driven. The songs in the album sound upbeat and catchy, however they are also heavy and mean sounding. The 8 minute epic What I Confess, is the most unique song in the album, that showcase their experimentation and unique songwriting. The use of synths and acoustics elevates their sound to that of prog thrash, and this is most apparent in What I Confess.

Overall, it's a very charming and flavorful album, fun and catchy, that is also crushing and heavy, creative and experimental. A very unique album. Hearing that in their debut they were hinting towards a more interesting form of death/thrash, and then hearing what they came up with this album, it only makes you wonder what could have been of the future of this band, especially considering it was the 90's already when this came out. Were they gonna become Europe's Voivod? Take death/thrash to its limits? To places we never even considered to be possible? These questions make me think this band's end might be one of thrash's most interesting and never talked about losses of the genre.

Let's say that you liked the debut. I cannot promise whether you will like ''Mindwaves'' or not, but I can say that this album is almost nothing like its predecessor. I was quite shocked by the deliverance of the music and how it changed in a mere year, how a brutalized death/thrash crusher like Assorted Heap all of a sudden turned into something different. Surely, during the early nineties, new sounds were rapidly developing. Primal cavemen were all of a sudden transforming into technically proficient virtuosoes. I might have have expected that from Assorted Heap, but this is completely different.

Whereas ''The Experience Of Horror'' is stubborn, frenzied and monstrous, ''Mindwaves'', turns down the savagery and archaic sound, and increases the atmosphere. The sound is thrash, under everything else, but above the music it gets intense and atmopsheric, even gothic at times. The production on this album leads to a gate which just brings up more ambiance, it's darker and more torturing than the debut. You cannot find a single trace of the savage, primal riffage that was highly prevalent on the debut, as they've been replaced by ultimately crushing stompers. They're extremely simple but feel like an iron mace shattering a skull. With such heft and density focusing on the riffs, the album becomes beyond heavy, leaving shattered bones. The immense ''What I Confess'' is the absolute climax of the album, featuring both stampeding thrash genius and a number of gothic acoustic guitar medleys and ambients, all cased in one eight minute bag.

Well, the sophomore still attains some of its predecessor's primal savagery, as seen on the title track, though still executed in a controlled way. The vocals have also changed from the traditional Max Calavera-esque death/thrash madness, to a more comphrensible style, principally still guttural, but darker. The sophomore has so much difference than the debut that I'd bet if you wouldn't have known that the album were from the same band, you would have never guessed that they were. Synthesizers, ambients, acoustics and atmosphere are only the general aspects that differ. Comparatively, I like ''Mindwaves'' more, because it has the groove and dark catchiness that the debut never came even close to having.

Highlights
''Dealing With Dilemma''
''What I Confess''
''Mindwaves''

Originally written for Nightmare Reality Webzine.
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