Formed way back in 1984, VENDETTA is a German thrash metal band who have released their appropriately titled fifth album, "The 5^th."  Much like fellow German thrash KREATOR and SODOM, theirs is an aggressive sound, focusing more on pummeling you in the eardrums than creating something melodic or epic.  The opening track, "Fragile," starts with an ominous tone but just before I thought it might be yet another intro, the track busts wide open with the twin guitar attack of HEINER and OPF wailing.  In the background, Vogel gives a sinister laugh and the onslaught continues.  Vogel's vocals are very appropriate for this style; he sounds similar to Mille from KREATOR, what with a vocals that ride the gauntlet between rough speaking and harsh singing.  However, he puts his own spin on it and comes off sounding his own way.

"Fragile," is anything but.  The song is a hellride of great riffs, several awesome guitar solos and some really great bass and drumming.  Heiner also plays bass on the album and it's safe to say his fancy fretwork is equally represented on the bass as much as it is on guitar.  I love his crazy, funky bass intro on "Religion Is A Killer," and it's a shame the band doesn't take a whole lot of risks like that.  It sounds like a thrash version of the Seinfield theme song.  The rest of the song is decent, the main riff is really groovy and around the 2:14 mark the band just thrashes out for about a minute and really brings it. Kramer's drumming really is the back bone of the band.  The whole record sees him shining. He doesn't play anything overly amazing but he keeps a constant pace with very sharp and punctual work.

"The Prophecy," is a standout track because it reminds me a lot of early MEGADETH. During the track, Vobel spits out his vocals in more of a conversational tone like MUSTAINE often does. Musically, the riffs are very fast and the solos could cut through steel. The last track, "Nevermind," once again shows a sliver of variety the band can pull off.  There isn't a whole lot of metal going on in this track but the acoustic guitars are well done and Vogel shows he can sing pretty well when he isn't screaming over thrash riffs. The main problem with the album is, while moving at high speed, it quickly runs out of fuel.  There just isn't enough variety to keep me interested here.  Their KREATOR worship is awesome but that band is able to inject a lot of different things into their music, specifically melody and some gothic tones.  I doubt anyone would doubt the talent of anyone in this band, and if you want a straight up thrash album then you found it, but for those looking for meat on their thrash plate you might want to look elsewhere.  A LOT of thrash metal bands are still going strong, such as KREATOR, SODOM, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, DEATH ANGEL AND TESTAMENT. With such big name bands still releasing great material, it's hard to pay attention to this.  Still, an enjoyable thrash record.