HEADSHOT hailing from Brunswick, Germany were formed in 1993. The Thrash Metal outfit release their 7^th full-length album. “…Makes Us Survive!” was mixed and mastered by Jost Schlüter (FINAL CRY; QUEEN OF DISTORTION), and it has a length of more than 43 minutes. The album was released via German Death and Thrash Metal specialists MDD Records.

 The album starts with a short intro, transitioning into the fast old school Thrash song “Sudden Death”. Characteristically for the opener is the classical Thrash Metal riffing that drives the track forward. HEADSHOT is one of the few Thrash Metal bands with a female vocalist and the vocals of Daniela Karrer are harsh and range around the medium end of the vocal range with a few shifts in both directions. “Sudden Death” is surprisingly relatively short, but this does not take anything away of being a great opening track (leaving aside the very short intro). “Mother Earth Meltdown” is a headbanger with powerful riffing, double-bass drumming, and crunching basslines. While the verse parts are played at a measured tempo with a pounding rhythm, the chorus parts lean more towards mid-tempo. The pace is further increased for the break leading to the extended lead guitar solo, which is the highlight of the track. “Silent Cry” continues with the strong basslines during the short pre-lude to the track. When I listened to the riffing of the track, I feel there are a few classical ANTHRAX vibes in it. However, “Silent Cry” is a fast affair for most of the track with simple and aggressive riffing. The lead guitars stamp their authorities on the track again and for me, “Silent Cry” is one of my album favorites.

 “Leave The Past Behind” starts with a playful lead guitar part alongside the main riff. It is mostly a mid-tempo track with a few twists and turns towards both ends of the tempo range. The riffing is direct, simple, and thunderous while the vocals give the track a lot of aggression. The many rhythm switches, especially during the break make the song not easy to listen to. “In My Mind” has a Folk inspired start using the percussion and the Irish Bouzouki. It is a tension-building beginning with the guitars, bass, and drums joining into that what started as a Folk song. The main melodic theme is preserved during the whole track. It is a dark song, and the melodies have a slight melancholic touch. The lead guitars are, once again, the highlight of “In My Mind”, which is another of my favorite album tracks. After the short interlude “Prophecy Pt. II (Interlude)”,  “Emotional Overload” is another fast Thrash attack with classical Thrash riffing being the most prominent feature of the track. It is not an overly fast song with a few changes in tempo and rhythm, but it has certainly its moments at crazy pace during the lead guitar solo. The track is not the classical verse/chorus/break track as there are a couple of breaks with a couple of solos near the end of the track. “Emotional Overload” was released as lyric video, and the YouTube link is provided below.

 “Rotten To The Core” is a powerful track with thunderous riffing at a measured tempo and a head-banging rhythm, while the melodies have a few oriental vibes. The vocals fit perfectly into the dark track, in particular when Daniela Karrer uses some deeper notes for the chorus. The lead guitars belong again to the highlights of the track. “Day Of The Dead” starts with a cinematic spoken word part, transitioning into an extended instrumental part led by the basslines. It takes about half of the song, before the vocals join in for the verse part at mid-tempo. There are several tempo switches during the track, most notable from the short bridge to the chorus part. The break for the lead guitar solo is the fastest part of “Day Of The Dead” followed by a cool transition back towards the mid-tempo for the final verse part. The final track before the outro starts with an atmospheric intro leading into a slow and blood-freezing guitar driven part. The main riff of the track eventually starts after two minutes of atmosphere building. “Sentenced” is another head-banger at mid-tempo with a simple verse/chorus structure with crushing riffs and basslines. The break is two-parted with a slow part at the beginning, while the lead guitar solo is played at mid-tempo. “Sentenced” is a great Thrash Metal track to end with, while “Prophecy Pt. III (Outtro)” concludes the album.

 HEADSHOT show that old school Thrash Metal is well and alive! “…Makes Us Survive!” has all the ingredients to make a good classical Thrash Metal album: the riffing, the pace, the aggression, the lead guitars. However, “…Makes Us Survive!” is more than that as HEADSHOT bring their unique sound and song textures into the album. The album is well produced. HEADSHOT deliver an album which proves that there is more than the Teutonic Big Four of German Thrash Metal and fans will surely dig their new album.