Band:	Accu§er
Album:	The Conviction
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	1987
Guest review by:	Rikke

01. Evil Liar
02. Down By Law
03. Law Of War
04. Screaming For Guilt
05. Accuser
06. Sadistic Terror
07. The Conviction

When you think of German thrash metal, what comes to your mind first? Kreator? Sodom? Destruction? Tankard? Or maybe even Deaththrow? It's very sad that people only think of the Teutonic three when German thrash is being discussed, because there are many very good German thrash bands... Like Accuser (or Accu§er, if we trust the logo)

While Accuser was never able to make a deal with big labels like Kreator was able to do, the band was still capable of releasing many great albums. Their debut (and the subject of this very review) gives us a band filled with potential, but they hadn't found their own style yet. This album is really different compared to other German releases and this album actually reminds me a lot of Iron Maiden to be honest. This might be because of the melodies they use. The music can be described as a mix of Iron Maiden and Fistful of Metal - era Anthrax. But enough of the sound, let's get to the songs themselves!

One thing I have to point out is that these are a bit too long for their own good. The band tries a bit too hard and it's clear that they didn't have enough ideas, they just wanted to show that they are capable to do lengthy songs.

The albums starts with "Evil Liar", which is a really nice speed metal song. The Iron Maiden influence is clear and the whole album has this British speed metal/ early american thrash metal vibe on it. The song is aggressive, a bit too lengthy but it's ok. The vocals remind me of Mille Petrozza but not in a good way. The reason for this is that the singer sounds like Mille Petrozza sounds nowadays so if you like Mille Petrozza's latest outputs you should be okay with Conviction's vocal performance.

Next three songs which are "Down by Law", "Law of War" and "Screaming for Guilt" have their hooks and run very smoothly. They are something which you would expect from a thrash/speed metal band. They are a bit better than average metal and they have enough hooks to keep you interested. Nice solos and very nice high-pitched screams. Very enjoyable.

But "Accuser" is a song where they dropped the ball for a moment. The song starts really well but it's too long! The last four minutes are a real chore (at least for me) and there just weren't enough hooks to keep me interested.

The last two songs continue where "Down by Law", "Law of War" and "Screaming of Guilt" left off. Once again these two songs have some nice hooks that will keep you interested but I have to admit that the last song, Conviction, the title track is a bit bland which is a real shame, because usually the title track is something that surely will kick your ass.

The Conviction is an above average thrash record with some stand outs and nice hooks, but the slight unoriginality takes away some of it's credibility. A promising debut.