Chemical Assault

by Eduardo Rivadavia

Had it been released during the original first wave of thrash, in the pre-internet 1980s, instead of 2006, Violator's first album, Chemical Assault (out on Brazil's Kill Again Records), would have probably languished in territorially enforced anonymity. Lucky for them, though, there's rarely such a thing as a well-kept secret anymore, and so it took only two years before a recently thrash-crazy Earache Records saw fit to reissue Chemical Assault world-wide, rightfully exposing these admittedly archaic, but virtually peerless vintage thrashers to the rest of the globe. And perhaps it is their very isolation and substandard resources that make Violator so special amidst the scores of retro-thrash outfits doing the rounds; by permeating standout head-bangers like "Atomic Nightmare," "Addicted to Mosh," and "Ordered to Thrash" with a raw authenticity that's frequently lacking in the excessively mechanical, often ProTools-enhanced efforts put out by most of their competitors. As a result, these Brazilians have arguably come closer to evoking the true, rough-hewn spirit of Bay Area thrash -- their primary influences being Exodus, Vio-Lence, et. al -- than many a band located quite a bit closer, geographically speaking. Oh, and Violator's occasional songwriting references to Slayer (see "Destined to Die") and Testament (check out "After Nuclear Devastation") likewise leave little to be desired. At the end of the day, one still needs to give up on the notion of stylistic originality, when retro-thrashers like Violator come a-calling, but if imitation really is the best form of flattery, as they say, then Chemical Assault is as flattering as new millennium retro-thrash gets.