There are both good and bad things about these arrangements; getting up just after midnight to get to the airport sure isn't beneficial for a concert experience but for a line up like this it is worth it. Posthalle had some advantages over Soundpark-Ost but because of its size it never got as intense and hysteric as 'Thrash Assault II'.

First band to hit the stage was Slovenia's NEGLIGENCE with their METALLICA smelling type of old School Thrash Metal. Well, they didn't sound that much like METALLICA; NEGLIGENCE were both harder and faster but some elements were absolutely borrowed from the founders of this scene. And just as last year the response from the audience was quite strong from the start. What was even more impressive was that the whole first row comprised NEGLIGENCE's fans; brought all the way from Slovenia. Still, Posthalle felt really empty but it was probably about as many people as last event but since the hall was more than double size of Soundpark-Ost of course it affected the whole feeling of intimacy. NEGLIGENCE did a good job heating the place up though, perhaps the inexperience shown through from time to time and it all felt stiff but that's easy to look past when a band has a lot of fun on stage.

This thing with judging band is a hard job from time to time. HELLISH CROSSFIRE were definitely out-classed by NEGLIGENCE when it came to technique and musical performance.

But HELLISH CROSSFIRE had something else that few bands have; they had the nerve in their music. That's nothing you get by practicing; it's just something you either have it or not. That, combined with some really good songs and I can absolutely look past their musical performance. Perhaps, HELLISH CROSSFIRE were more towards old school Black Metal than Thrash but their primitive music was really charming. Bass player Don Promillo was shaking like an aspen-leaf for the first couple of songs. On the other flank, Iron Incubus played his guitar really convincing. All of them looked really cool though. Even if HELLISH CROSSFIRE didn't do much for me, they didn't make me feel anything they still made a mark. Perhaps, I expected something completely different (yes, I admit I didn't do my research well enough) and when they hit the stage I couldn't really take in what was coming. This time I couldn't give them a fair judging, not a chance.

MINOTAUR weren't really convincing either that this year's line up was going to break the last one. A mixture of SLAYER and METALLICA perhaps was pleasurable to listen to, but not very interesting. They did have a couple of good riffs but the overall feeling was absolutely a demo-like band rather than a recording artist. But there's no doubt that these bands has their careers in front of them and judging by the reaction from the crowd they all need to create a little bigger buzz around themselves to get some response. Now there was none, but the band didn't do much either to boost the crowd. Being a trio a band needs to work harder to fill the stage; MINOTAUR didn't manage really well there either. The stage looked empty. But for the last part of the show something strange happened. MINOTAUR took several climbs up the stairs and flipped over to a real kick-ass band. The music got more brutal and the before quite whiney vocals turned more towards their own landsmen, like Mille Petrozza or Onkel Tom Angelripper stylish such. I just wish they could have done this a little earlier in the show.

It took us 23 years to get to Germany, DEVASTATION's singer Rodney Dunsmore declared.

And US Thrash is in a class of its own this day. The volume was massive, so extreme it almost was painful in the photo-pit and that helped the intensity of course. But more relevant, DEVASTATION brought on some serious moshing and super-fast headspinning. In the heat of the moment cables got wired up and leached the musicians a bit. Maybe Rodney should have been a little more up in the front, he felt a little laidback compared to the others. On the other hand, the rest of DEVASTATION were completely crazy and that perhaps put Rodney a little towards the back. The energy on the stage reflected on the crowd too; it didn't take long before the area in front of the stage to start boiling and the mosh-pit kept growing a little for every song. Guitar player Walt Trachsler's outfit was perhaps a little odd. This was absolutely the first time I've ever seen anyone play in flip-flops. That together with a brown leather skirt, perhaps more blacksmith or warrior-stylish than girlie, created a really strange mixture. But apart from the flip-flops he looked damn cool. There's no doubt DEVASTATION are 100% high quality Thrash Metal, it's just a shame the records suffer from poor production, I've never gotten the same boost from listening to their records. But live everything sounded perfect and DEVASTATION were absolutely awesome to watch.
I didn't really get what SACRED STEEL did on the bill for 'Thrash Assault III' since I've never seen the connection between them and Thrash.

Their appearance here didn't change my opinion about their music but I have to admit they were amusing to watch. It is clear SACRED STEEL have done their fair share of gigging; they had the stage-props to make the stage special and they had the moves of a big band. It really don't take so much to create a great show; you just need to figure out how to use it all. Only if Gerrit Mutz was as great a singer as he is a front man. He can boost an audience and stay right in your face, all in the same quality as the rest of the bands performance. But SACRED STEEL's dark and heavy music should have a powerful vocalist too; I don't think Gerrit live up to the rest of the bands standard. Of course, it's a matter of taste but for me he's way too monotone and tone-lacking. Towards the end the intensity and heaviness were turned up a notch and the vocals became a mixture of growls and normal SACRED STEEL-style and it all became truly great. Overall this sounded much better to my ears.

Approaching the end of the evening I thought the standard would stay high all the way through. ACCUSER sounded great, it would be completely wrong to claim anything else.

Their SEPULTURA smelling Thrash had groove and attitude. One thing they didn't have was creativity. No matter how good it sounds or how well everything is performed a band is never stronger than their weakest link. ACCUSER's abilities when it comes to songwriting were what failed here. They sounded all the same from start to finish with the exception of Dominator that was a fast bastard. Else ACCUSER were most idle riffing and quite impersonal music and that doesn't earn them any creds on my list.

One thing that's so strange with these festivals, or any gig in Germany is that it can sound absolutely crap in the photo-pit. Then backing out of there after the three songs we get to play on always makes me expect the worst. And every time I'm surprised, in some way the soundguy manages to do something great of that noise coming out of the equipment on stage. With SADUS it was just like that; in the photo-pit it was mostly a loud brawl coming out of stage. Backing out the sound was dynamic, tight and very suitable for SADUS's music. Playing Death Metal , or at least very raw and brutal Thrash as a trio takes a lot of the musicians.

Add to that Steve DiGiorgio with his bass playing and some really obscure keyboards too didn't make it less impressive. Sure, SADUS didn't bring much action to the stage but the nature of the music and the greatness of the same together with the really atmospheric lights made it great anyway. Sometimes a band can create magic on stage without moving much at all. The magic just was there and the stage never felt empty, the show never felt dull. On Steve's left side Darren Travis made an equally strong impression with some hell of guitar playing. I've never been a huge fan of SADUS, most their records has passed me by quite unnoticed but their performance at 'Thrash Assault III' was great so I guess I better give them another chance now.

I gladly admit that 12 hours of non-stop Thrash Metal was exhausting and I was far from alone feeling like that. People were sleeping a little here and there in the venue by now and I was wondering if I could take on another band after the chock-treatment SADUS served or I was just going to feel bored for another hour before it was time to go home. Well, high quality Metal can never fail and it's always nice to watch Lee Altus play so of course it was another great ending of a 'Thrash Assault III' event. HEATHEN took the stage by storm and one thing was sure, they were charged like hell. Frankly, I don't think HEATHEN's two albums has passed the test of time especially well, at least not compared to many other bands in the genre but live these songs works perfectly well. Vocalist David White is unnoticeable when he's off stage. On stage he became a monster and really claimed his place. That together with Lee's energy really made the show.

That was what I remember from the show too. The rest of the band ended up in the background but I guess it's not the easiest thing to keep up with the other two. Between the songs Lee washed down one big bottle of beer after another and in the end it was impossible to hear what he was saying. Normally that kind of behavior is a real turn-off but since he only looked happier and it didn't affect his playing one bit it boosted the show a little further. Everything should have been over by midnight but HEATHEN wanted the party to go on a little while longer and added a few more songs to the bill. Planned or not it was absolutely value for money.

Even if this edition of 'Thrash Assault' didn't have as strong a line-up as its predecessor it was still a very nice event. Posthalle was too big for it though, Soundpark-Ost was completely packed and I've never seen more moshing in one event before. While Posthalle felt half empty and quite chilly, Soundpark-Ost were boiling non-stop. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by HEATHEN, they were absolutely much better than I expected but the band that made the strongest impression on me this day was DEVASTATION.

(photos by Victim of Deception Erika)

NEGLIGENCE

HELLISH CROSSFIRE

MINOTAUR

DEVASTATION

SACRED STEEL

ACCUSER

SADUS

HEATHEN