Permanent Menace

Never say never. Only 25 years after the debut, the second album of Chainsaw saw the light of day. The booklet explains the reasons for this long break and tells a story of enthusiasm and betrayal. Naturally, the latter one prevented a quick release of the material after the recordings. Anyway, now here are the songs and to be honest, they do not fascinate me. Lead vocalist Burkhardt von Scheidt says that the pieces are less naive and immature than those of the debut. Maybe he is right. Yet those tunes reflected the charm of a newly awakened scene that had better things to than to think about each and every detail. So yes, "Permanent Menace" has the more meticulously designed songs (without being innovative or progressive). Nevertheless, the debut and its special spirit remain untouched.

But does it make to sense to talk about maturity as long as one listens to tunes that rather tell a tale of mediocrity? The stupid "Kill the Unblessed" with its ridiculous chorus seems to be recorded in the toilet. "Inhuman" has nothing that makes my blood boil. Generally speaking, I do not see many connections to the debut. The Germans have lost their characterising sound. They still play thrash metal, but it is a more aggressive approach with many US American influences. Chainsaw want to sound like Vio-Lence or early Forbidden, but they are still, well, Chainsaw. And you guessed it, the power metal elements of the debut have been erased. Do not try to find the successor of "He Knows You Are Alone".

On the other hand, there are some tunes that reach out for the stars in the thrash metal sky. First and foremost, the sharp, robust and blustery "Running Fire" must be mentioned. A great riff, straight verses and dynamic tempo changes lead to a strong, pretty oppressive chorus. The solo section shines with vehemence and all in all, this song alone justifies the purchase of the album. By the way, "Running Fire" was the opener of their first demo. I have absolutely not the whiff of an idea how this fact could be compatible with von Scheidt's story of more matured songs on the second album. By the way, it also remains a mystery to me why they did not release "The Tombs of the Blind Dead", another song from their demo, on one of their vinyls. It would have enriched both releases. Anyway, let's get back to the album itself. "Thrashmare" also takes the right course, due to the raping guitars, the screams of von Scheidt and an intensive solo part. The riffing equals that of "Running Fire" and this is neither innovative nor bad. The opener is another song which flirts with the riffs of "Running Fire", but only during its hymnal beginning. Its straight configuration indicates the design of the entire material and von Scheidt's pressed vocals also do not lead to a high degree of difference between the single songs.

So many bands did not achieve the breakthrough, in Germany as well as worldwide. Teutonic formations such as Assorted Heap, Death in Action, Baphomet and thousands more never reached a remarkable level of public interest. Chainsaw, as much as I regret it, share their destiny. Tunes like "Bury God" with its ordinary chorus and its slightly trite guitar work are not capable to withstand the competition on the overcrowded battlefield of thrash, regardless of the date of their release and the quality of the production. Incidentally, "Permanent Menace" has a bone-dry sound and the bass guitar comes off badly. Three "bonus" tracks (bonus tracks for an album which has never been released regularly?) are not helpful, they just lengthen the album (and the sound of two of them is really poor: powerless and dull). Kudos to Chainsaw, an authentic formation, for a somehow legendary debut and for tracks such as "Running Fire", but "Permanent Menace" is almost as meaningless as its artwork.