The term "blackened death metal" has been applied to numerous bands, but one term that hasn't been used nearly as much (at least as of early 2009) is "blackened thrash metal." However, that term has been used to describe
Assaulter's debut album, Salvation Like Destruction, and it is an accurate description of what the Australian trio does on this 2008 recording. Salvation Like Destruction is, in fact, a thrash metal disc with a strong black metal influence -- certainly when it comes to the lead vocals of S. Berserker, whose rasp gives this 39-minute CD its black metal appeal. However, other things closely identified with black metal (such as blastbeats and ultra-ominous harmonies) are not part of the picture on Salvation Like Destruction; replace Berserker's rasp vocals with clean vocals, and this would have been a straight-ahead, '80s-style thrash album rather than a "blackened" thrash album. And even with Berserker's black metal-minded vocals, forceful tracks like "Awe of Fire," "The Axiom Star," and "Vengeance Whips" are still very '80s-sounding -- which makes sense when one considers that black metal, like death metal, came out of thrash and owes a strong artistic debt to punk.
Assaulter's approach is basically thrash metal with an awareness of early black metal, and it's important to remember that the early black metal bands identified with punk's garage-like rawness and lack of slickness (although the symphonic black metal bands that came along later brought more polish to the table). Salvation Like Destruction is mildly inconsistent, but overall, it is a likable reminder of the common ground shared by thrash metal and black metal. ~ Alex Henderson