Markus Grosskopf is a known bass player who has been with HELLOWEEN from the very beginning and remained there during the rough days. Additionally he is member in Tobias Sammet project band AVASTASIA who are releasing the new album Scarecrow somewhere in the end of this month. Markus decided to do materialize his original idea of making an entire album without any guitars at all. For this purpose he formed a project band called BASSINVADERS that comprises Marchel Schmier Schirmer from DESTRUCTION, Peavy Wagner from RAGE and last but not least Tom Angeripper from SODOM. So, take some time to read the rest of this review because I assure this is a most interesting release.
Apart from the three bass tormenting charismatic frontmans Markus has put up an impressive guest list to cover the seats behind the microphone, the drum kit and also some additional bass players (the list is long to mention all the names). Although I am a big fan of the bass guitar's sound (that is really underestimated in the Metal scene) I was really skeptic about this album because I was thinking that it would be just for fooling around. After the short intro the up-tempo We Live immediately cleared out all the clouds of doubt that were blocking my mind. The song follows the Euro Power Metal pattern with catchy riffs (!!!) solid drumming and excellent vocals. Armageddon comprises the bass sound that I really love and follows the Thrash Metal pattern featuring Schmier on the lead vocals. In this song you can track down the evil feeling found in every DESTRUCTION tune!
Romance In Black changes the musical direction and joins RAGE's atmosphere under the help of Peavy's distinct and melodic vocals. As you might have understood the songs were composed upon the vocals of every singer and the music trace that follows the main bass player. So, the ultra heavy Godless God is marked by SODOM's Sign of Evil while Dead From The Eyes Down reminds us of their main influences from the mighty MOTORHEAD. As expected Markus did a HELLOWEEN cover that is Eagle Fry Free where the opening old time classic guitar riff is excellently performed with the four string instrument. Apollo Papathanasio, the voice of FIREWIND, adds his high pitch vocals during the chorus lines and really spices things up. One of my album favorites, The Asshole Song welcomes the voice of Jesper Blinzer from D.A.D. and presents some jazzy breaks and an ala Breadfan opening riff.
The bottom line is that Markus managed to create an all-star project band with some more than famous guests, (Marco Mendoza, DD Verni, Joey Vera, Jenns Becker to name a few) that added their special touch and created a most enjoyable tracklist. Personally, I think that it would an excellent idea to get BASSINVADERS on the road and storm the venues with ultra heavy sound of the bass guitar. Bassist or not you should get this fucker!