Search - Cadillac Hitmen :: Assassin

Southwest-desert Crime-Spree Car-Chase Mood Music!

Henry R. Kujawa | "The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ) | 06/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The name of the band caught my attention. The CD surprised me! When you listen to as much music, and as much instrumental guitar music, as I do-- for something to stand out as much as THE ASSASSIN does is amazing. This is one of those albums that I really, really liked the first time I played it... but over the course of about a month, playing it over and over again, it quickly grew on me. And at some point it just overwhelmed me-- I couldn't get enough of it! About the time almost EVERY song started imbedding themselves into my psyche, I also realized The Cadillac Hitmen's particular style of "surf" (to use the generic term) had a lot in common with that of The Shadows. No small praise! Lots of moodiness, painting pictures without lyrics, to balance out the high-powered up-tempo numbers. My faves include "Black Hills", "Fistfull Of Amphetamines", "The Stalker", and "Bullwhip"-- but the WHOLE ALBUM works as a unit, something I can't say about too many of these things. Anyone who's looked over my reviews may have noticed-- I don't give "5 stars" lightly!The follow-up, TRI-STATE KILLING SPREE, is also of interest, but that hasn't "grabbed" me anywhere near as much as THE ASSASSIN. Be sure to check out their website, especially if "availability" is a problem. Who'd ever guess a band who so perfectly captures the feel of the southwest desert could be from New Hampshire?"