Pessimist
Death From Above

May 2013
Released: 2013, MDD Records
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Here we are in mid-2013 and the thrash revival movement is still going strong, nearly a decade after it began. Germany’s Pessimist (no, not the American one…no, not the Czech one either!) is one of the more recent bands to join the fray, issuing their debut album, CALL TO WAR in 2010. The band has undergone some lineup changes since then, adding both a new rhythm guitarist and drummer. Now they’ve unleashed their sophomore album, DEATH FROM ABOVE.



As you’d expect from a German band, Pessimist’s brand of thrash is heavy and unrelenting, at times bordering on death metal in both their riffs, and the abrasive vocals of TZ. To be honest, TZ’s vocals are one of the downsides of the band’s music, as he’s strictly a shouty vocalist and doesn’t really bring much personality to the band’s stock tales of war. Otherwise, the band’s songs are as energetic and in your face as you’d expect, even if the riffs are not quite as memorable as I would have liked. That’s not to say the album is a miasma of boredom, as some songs like “Feindfahrt” or “Blood Will Flow” create a vicious thrash storm to rival Destruction. But with so much quality thrash out there, it will be difficult for Pessimist to stand out with their monotonous vocals and average riffs.



Pessimist may not be the cream of the thrash crop, but fans of the Teutonic style of thrash will definitely find much to enjoy about DEATH FROM ABOVE.