from: None It's raw. It's fast. It's old-school. It's everything the metal scene was in 1985 and more, and it all comes in under 28 minutes, including a cover of Kreator's "Total Death." This CD, despite being so short, is virtually flawless. Perhaps the only thing that can take away points from this album is in fact the production on the Kreator cover - you have to turn the bass way up to combat the shrieky guitar tone, but that is only a minor issue. This album is filled with metal-worshipping cliches - The album is titled "Thrash Assault" for one thing, and how many bands have a song called "Thrash Til Death" nowadays? The same for "Tormentor?" Destruction has done both. Sauron has done better on both! They've proven they can sing about metal and not make it sound overdone or boring. The tone is really raw, and yet you can hear every instrument clearly. The drumming is loud, fast, and very well done. Skinthrasher is such an appropriate name. The vocals are harsh, and black in style. Doomy G. Blackthrash (greatest name ever?) is not just a singer, he's a frontman, and you'll find him frequently straying from the traditional verses to put his voice to other uses - the thrash breakdown in Unholy Art features an uber evil laugh, and just before the solo in Thrash Assault gets into its groove he yells "here comes the assault!", and as already mentioned in one of the reviews he ends the song Thrash Til Death with "f**king old-school... HaHaHaHa!" More metal singers need to do this - these are the little things that will turn an ordinary vocalist into a good one. Not only are there lots and lots of riffs, but all of them are good. Nothing on this album is out of place or needing improvement. The songs come at you heavier, faster, and more destructive than a wall of panzers in Polish territory (and f**k you historians, Poland fought well, but this CD is still better than anything made from Poland). Victor 'Lore Lord' Ruiz has invented riffs, solos, and even melodies that can literally make musicians envious. Listen to the song Tormentor - you won't be able to speak the minute you hear the main riffs in the first chorus and the instrumental section that follows - especially the solo - you too, will wish you had the ability to write that. Thrash Assault also has a wonderful chorus and melodic solo, with some good harmonies. In fact, the display of soloing on this album is good enough for any Priest or Maiden album. Sheer brilliance - there is no mindless wankery here. Every song here is a total winner, but as all rules apply some just tend to win better than others. I'll only say that my favorite track here would have to be Tormentor. It's break-neck fast like all the others, but it has such an intense instrumental section after the first chorus that makes it so epic. Few CDs can do so much with so little, as this album has done. It is a fantastic display of thrash with an excellent blend of black metal, and some quality Iron Maiden-ish epic melody to boot. If you can get this album, please get it, you won't get any more old-school than this album. This is indeed, the soundtrack by which the dark lord Sauron destroys everything in his path.