Štvanice

The Czech thrash/death metal scene never managed to rise in stature the way the Polish and Russian ones did; it remained in the background playing second fiddle on the Eastern European front not making the fans very eager to delve deeper into it. Those who did give it a try would have found out that there was a steady group of performers (Kryptor, Asmodeus, Arakain, Torr, Debustrol, Atomic) who were disturbing the underground on regular bases, quite a few of them still alive and kicking in the new millennium.

Assessor appeared after two members of the black/thrash metal purveyors Moriorr left that act willing to pursue a more technical, less black metal-oriented direction. Then the former Kryptor vocalist chipped in, and the band were ready to go. A debut 3-track demo was assembled quickly and released in 1989. It was impressive enough to secure the guys a one-album deal, and a year later they already had their full-length opus out. The style was quite intricate, complex thrash/death siding with Atheist and Hellwitch with a few genuinely surreal motifs ala Voivod embedded. This was a truly unique for the local scene approach which put them on top of the technical/progressive thrash/death metal movement in the small country which was later enriched with the wizards Chirurgia’s two masterpieces, and Crionic’s “Different” (1993).

Alas, the Assessor saga wasn’t meant to have a follow-up, at least not for the time being. The guys vanished only for half of the line-up to appear under the name Tortura, a joint project with other members from Kryptor, when they managed another effort, “Sanctuary of Abhorrence” in 1992; the delivery was more along the lines of the Swedish death metal legions with a covert semi-technical streak. Not a bad new beginning by any standards, it also failed to produce anything more substantial... Long silence followed interrupted by the emergence of Amok in 2003, another death metal-prone formation founded by those Assessor members who didn’t take part in the Tortura affair. An album was released, “Negative World” (2007), which was a melo-death offering without any more intriguing flourishes.

Five years later the two Assessor fractions join for the creation of the album released here. Shredding under that banner, the guys prove again that only the finest technical metal could possibly come out of their hands. The band haven’t forgotten what it meant to be a prime practitioner on the field as the opening “Ve Znameni Stira” shows only too well, a supreme surreal shredder the super-stylish spiral-like guitars working in perfect unison with the mean semi-shouty Kelly Shaefer-like (Atheist) vocals, with melody and speed later introduced in equal portions. “Osud” delves deeper into the surreality, but only in a more subdued mid-tempo manner the guys providing a few jumpier sections in the middle, but nothing too speedy. “Sadistova Zpoved” is a masterpiece of cleverly executed, vortex-like technical death/thrash, a most shining example of spastic, outlandish progressive accumulations this side of Atheist, Theory in Practice and Coroner; some of the most impressive 5-min in the annals of the genre. There’s more to come, though, and “Vlci v Rouse Berancim” is an appetizing contrasting mix of hectic technicality and minimalistic proto-groovy implements, a very atmospheric approach which also boasts fine lead licks.

“Prasata” is a jumpy headbanger the band weaving sceneries of spacey progressive formulas carved by sudden technical sweeps which acquire more engaging virtuoso-like proportions not without the help of several less controlled blast-beats. “Lidske Stado” shreds like there’s no tomorrow the guys blending furious gallops with equally as aggressive fast-paced strokes, the latter “borrowed” by the following “Asesor” which moves more deeply into the death metal arena the arsenal ranging from extreme blasting sweeps to highly-technical riff-knots. “Zlo Severu” notches up the hallucinogenic elaborate riff “salads” with echoes of Atheist again, Gorguts, and Martyr, with weird melodic tunes appearing out of nowhere to enhance the unearthly musical picture; a truly compelling complex progressiver relieved by “Hrad”, the most immediate track here, a formidable technical galloper ala Helstar and New Eden which speedy whirlwinds later still smell a less ordinary approach with the labyrinthine decisions taken. The band throw in one of their old hymns, “Invaze”, the title-track from the debut, provided here almost unaltered, a fitting raging finish to this no-brainer of all things technical and progressive.

This is pretty much the peak of the thrash and death metal genres on the Czech scene served in a package of a bit over 40-min; some may prefer the more eccentric, less accessible visions of Chirurgia as presented on “The Last Door” (1993), but this album should be the surer choice as the fans won’t be bewildered around every corner, like the case on the Chirurgia opus would be, and will also find plenty of opportunities to mosh around to oblivion. It’s a wonderful summation of the trends within the more extreme progressive/technical metal sphere of the new millennium, more digestible and more immediate than the Vektor observations, and more spontaneously energetic than similar mind-stimulators like Ouroboros’ “Glorification of a Myth” (2011), and Replacire’s “The Human Burden” (2102). It also nicely recalls another stellar occurrence in the same vein, the Americans Vicious Circle’s “The Art of Agony” (2004), maybe a tad less complex and not as riff-dense.

Where the band were going to go from here was ultimately hard to envisage; to reach the same heights with another similar effort would have been a really tough task. Two very strong ascensions having taken place at different time periods was a fairly wise decision; I personally think that Czech metal has no reasons to worry: whenever the time for another assessment comes, our friends will be back again to pass the next test with flying colours.