Description
Still sealed cd with slipcase and a 12-page booklet
Hardcore thrashers insisting that Assassin´s two early demos were superior to the re-recordings of the very same songs that ended up on the band´s debut album The Upcoming Terror might have a point. When the first tape Holy Terror started to circulate at the beginning of 1986, it not only put Dusseldorf on the map of German extreme metal but was also an instant classic of Teutonic steel because the quintet married instinctive ferocity with an already impressive degree of musicality. Dinko and me wrote all of the songs during that era, says guitarist Jurgen Scholli Scholz about the origins of these six tracks plus intro. We were inspired by doing all the new hot and fast stuff that had been coming out for some years, but with our own twist. Although we liked Venom or Metallica – who made their best album with Ride The Lightning at around the same time – as well as Exciter, Motörhead and Tank, we aimed at finding an individual way, which was still possible back then. Still rough around the edges for all their palpable ambition, the tunes – the catchy title track, band anthem Assassin and the surprisingly colourful instrumental Speed Of Light amongst them – were recorded in 1985 in our rehearsal space with just one microphone. We had been dabbling with a four-track recorder from our drummer´s cousin, but the result sounded way too soft, so we stuck to that very basic setup. Listening to this stuff now, it´s astounding just how well it has aged in comparison to the dilettantish initial steps of some of Assassin´s peers, most of which became significantly more popular.
Track list:
1. The Damned-intro-Holy Terror demo 1985
2. Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)-Holy Terror demo 1985
3. Holy Terror-Holy Terror demo 1985
4. Religion-Holy Terror demo 1985
5. Bullet-Holy Terror demo 1985
6. Assassin-Holy Terror demo 1985
7. Speed Of Light-Holy Terror demo 1985
8. Into War-intro-The Saga Of Nemesis demo 1986
9. Forbidden Reality-The Saga Of Nemesis demo 1986
10. Holy Terror-The Saga Of Nemesis demo 1986
11. Nemesis-The Saga Of Nemesis demo 1986
12. Speed Of Light-The Saga Of Nemesis demo 1986