SATURDAY MORNING DOUBLE FEATURE: ATTACKER!

ATTACKER - BATTLE AT HELM'S DEEP (1985)

How many metal bands can you think of that have kicked total ass with complete consistency since 1983? Slayer comes to mind. Iron Maiden's had their ups and downs, but I think we can throw them in there... Anyone else?
How about Weehawken, New Jersey's, Attacker? Although their releases have been sparse (four full-length albums since 1985, plus a handful of demos and singles), these guys have remained a balls-out, full-on speed metal attack, a band with a HUGE sound that has never really managed to break through to even modest success. "Battle" is their debut album, something I picked up in a pawn shop in high school that blew me away with its intensity and slight progginess. This album has it all, right down to the poorly-drawn fantasy-art cover and Tolkien themes throughout. A true classic.

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ATTACKER - THE UNKNOWN (2006)

Fast forward to 2007. Along comes my roommate one day, asking if I've ever heard this band "Attacker" from new Jersey. "Why sure" I reply, delving into my dusty old cassette collection to produce the aforementioned "Battle" tape.
"I don't think we're talking about the same band" he says, pointing out that HIS Attacker CD is relatively new and my tape is from 1985. Well, after a quick listen, we came to the conclusion that, yes, this is the same Attacker, and yes, they put out two KILLER albums 21 years apart from each other. The sound is very similar (I found out later that their original singer died in 1994, but his replacement does him justice), and after some research I found out Attacker put out two other albums, "The Second Coming" in 1988 and "Soul Taker" in 2004. I recommend them all, but here's a good place to start: the beginning and the end (well, not really the end) of a rad, 20-plus year run on the metal world, the bread on a big, meaty, thrashin' sandwich.

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