If you were on the lookout for quality thrash metal in the 1980s, your next stop after the USA would most likely have been Germany. With Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom leading the way, the so-called “Teutonic Trio” eventually expanded to include legendary beer bastards Tankard, but the country also produced a host of other quality acts. Bands like Deathrow, Paradox, Assassin, Vendetta, and Living Death all flew the flag with pride along with many other deserving names, one of those being underrated Siegen based act Accu§er.

Their eleventh full-length studio release, the eponymously titled Accu§er (Metal Blade) is everything you could wish for from a no-frills, balls-out thrash album. From opener ‘Misled Obedience’ to the Middle Eastern infused ‘Temple of All’, and the all-out violence of ‘Phantom Graves’, ‘Rethink’, ‘Seven Lives’ and thunderous closer ‘A Cycle’s End’, the riffs come thick and fast. Add to that a rip-roaring cover of ‘The Eliminator’ by NY Hardcore mob Agnostic Front, and you’ve got a recipe for some seriously fucked up neck muscles.

Even during it’s more melodic moments like the partly clean sung ‘Be None the Wiser’, the album never loses ground and contains some of the band’s best work to date. The rhythm section of bassist Frank Kimpel and drummer Olli Fechner never lets up for a moment, while returning guitarist René Schütz contributes some seriously skillful solos, and frontman Frank Thoms brings the riffs and harsh vocals.

An album that easily rivals the recent work of many of their more illustrious peers, Accu§er is a prime example of modern old school German thrash. Buy the album here: https://metalblade.com/accuser/

 

8 / 10

GARY ALCOCK