Heaven and Hell Reissues ASSASSIN: License to kill

One of quite a few bands bearing the same moniker, suburban Pittsburgh’s Assassin received
their certification for a License to Kill from the Micro Mix label in 1985. The long-neglected
obscure license that is their debut album was just renewed by Heaven and Hell Records in May
2016. Assassin’s sole full-length offering is standard traditional metal fare overall, but fortunately
incorporates different kinds of songs within the genre in a short 28 minutes. License to Kill’s
opening cut is a fun, upbeat rocker; but is followed by the slower “In the Night”. The title track’s
intro riff very closely resembles the beginning of Savage’s “The China Run”. Assassin’s most
unusual, disparate tunes are the more southern rock-based “Made in the U.S.A.” and the 50-
second joke track “J.A.S.I.T.M.”. The album’s keyboards are applied sparingly, creating a more
commercial feel on “In the Night” and discord in “Assassin”. The two tracks from Assassin’s
1983 single, “Fools Don’t Know” and the somewhat funky “Feels So Good”, are also included on
this re-issue. The album’s overall highlights are “Fools Don’t Know” and “In the Night”. Despite
Assassin’s continuous shifts in ideas and formulas of song-writing, they still fall short on
originality and—more importantly—memorability. Assassin shows potential, and perhaps if they
would have released more material their songs could have been more enduring. License to Kill
is a decent album worth hearing, and may even take a few listens to grow on you. However, this
is far from the best piece of classic heavy metal that the U.S. churned out during this era.



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Tags:  assassin, license to kill   

Jason Fisher    October 27, 2016