Assassun – Sunset Skull (Album – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, EBM.
Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.
Background/Info: After the promising debut EP “The World I Will Leave”Alexander Leonard Donat (Vlimmer, Fir Cone Children ao) is back on track unleashing Assassun’s debut full length album.
Content: “Sunset Skull” moves on from where the EP stopped. It’s a raw, Electronic composition finding inspiration in the 80s Electro-Wave. There’re spooky tunes hanging over the work. Some bass lines are driven by EBM inspiration. The vocals wete sung in English.
+ + + : The album confirms the potential of the debut EP. Donat is not only a prolific artist but also a true creative mind. This project has something retro-like and yet it has something very personal-like. I like the raw, icy sound treatments while other tones remind me a bit of the good-old Theremin. Alexander Donat also is a talented vocalist who performs in a passionate way. There are multiple attention grabbers at this work but I especially want to mention “Over Again”. “Your Scheme?” is another noticeable cut with some Fad Gadget elements on top.
– – – : Alexander Donat avoids composing long tracks. That’s sometimes a pity, especially when you’re listening to great songs.
Conclusion: Assassun is an Electronic project with a true potential. This is an interesting and personal retro-styled production.
Best songs: “Over Again”, “Your Scheme?”, “Burial Shroud”, “Hook To The Chin”, “Achilles Tendon”.
Rate: 8.
Listen to “Sunset Skull”:
Artist: www.facebook.com/assassunband
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist
About Assassun
Assassun is the darkwave project of Alexander Leonard Donat, the Berlin-based musician who runs Blackjack Illuminist Records. Donat also records as Vlimmer, Fir Cone Children, Distance Dealer, Leonard Las Vegas, Feverdreamt and Infravoids, and played earlier in Jet Pilot and Flight Recorder.
The project started with the four-track EP “The World I Will Leave” in February 2022, issued digitally and as a limited MCD, with the first fifteen CD copies hand-numbered and packed with two coloured artwork inlay cards. “Sunset Skull” followed on 11 March 2022 as the first Assassun album, with music and artwork by Donat.
Donat has kept the project running since: “Chronic Quicksand Depression Morning” arrived in 2023, “Post-Climax” in 2024 and “Retrofate” in 2025.
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