Whoa! This definitely IS a surprise! The music this band plays is the last thing I expected to hear from them! It seems that Germany is full of surprises and this is not the first time I listen to some decent Thrash Metal coming from there. Remember my review on COURAGEOUS? I guess CRIPPER is a similar case...

The German thrashers CRIPPER were born in 2005, debuting with their 2006 EP Killer Escort Service. In 2007, the band recorded and released its debut full-length album Freak Inside and distributed it themselves. One year later, they decided to release an extended version of the album, which means one bonus track and a video clip for the song Shortcut.

With the help of SAOL, which means Service for Artist Owned Labels and is a service of cmm GmbH, CRIPPER are back(?) to thrash you once again with... the same old stuff! Anyway, since I believe that this re-release is not so important, I will just try to present the album to those who don't know the band.

I guess that the re-release of Freak Inside only serves a wider distribution network and nothing more. Anyway, musically the band stands more for the US style of Thrash Metal putting aside any German Thrash Metal influences. Catchy and aggressive riffs are being thrown right into your face and I can say that the guitarists have made a more than good job regarding the riffing section. Let's not forget that there is a rule in Thrash Metal that says the better your riffs are, the better you Thrash is! The surprise this band hides for you is its female singer, Britta Gortz. A really beautiful woman with huge balls! Imagine an angel with black hair and blue eyes singing like a macho guy! If it wasn't for that I could smash your balls attitude I swear I could ask her to marry me!

So, until now we only have good things about this band. Catchy riffs, aggression and nice song structures that will probably challenge you to bang your head several times. The fact is, why did I start feeling kind of bored after several listening sessions? Maybe it is the weak production. Or maybe it is that the vocals need a slight improvement. You know what... I could have said that this is one more mediocre Thrash Metal band but their resemblance to my beloved RECKLESS TIDE and the beautiful eyes of Britta managed to make me believe that we can see some great stuff from them in the near future. I guess that ARCH ENEMY's Angela has already started shaking.