Assück

Assück was an American grindcore band from St. Petersburg, Florida, active from 1987 to 1998. During their existence, they released two studio albums, numerous EPs, as well as various compilation albums. The band has been described as an influential touchstone for grindcore, with their second and final album, Misery Index, being cited as one of the best and most essential records within the genre.

Assück was founded by vocalist Paul Pavlovich and guitarist Steve Heritage. The band went through several line-up changes, in particular changing vocalists four times. Despite these changes, Assück maintained its heavy and fast sound — and anarchist sensibilities — from its first release to its last.

The band proved influential, with their album Anticapital voted number 4 in the Terrorizer list of their top 20 US grindcore albums. Terrorizer described the record as a "low-calibre battery of brooding, malicious, doom-ridden grind pitched somewhere between early Napalm Death and even earlier Bolt Thrower."

According to journalist Greg Pratt, "Assück were an incredible band with probably metal's best drummer, Rob Proctor, although no one ever mentions his name. They combined well-written poetic and political lyrics with catchy songs, insane musicianship and a short-fast-loud brutality that no one has topped since." In a retrospective article for Decibel Magazine, Pratt stated that despite the very short runtime of Anticapital, the album has "changed extreme music history." He explained that the record shows the failings of society though inspires change through its poetically despairing lyrics and charging bass drum leads.

Jeff Terich of Treblezine listed their second and final album, Misery Index, as one of the most essential grindcore records, stating that the album "stands as a document of grindcore at its gimmick-free best" and describing the instrumental abilities displayed throughout it as "inhuman witchery".

Damien Beard of Reverb.com described Steve Heritage as an iconic and defining guitarist of '90s hardcore punk, noting the metal-influence and complexity of his riffing as Assück's best work. He deemed the band as a "behemoth of combination of crust-punk anger and heavy metal musicianship", emphasizing their sound as short bursts of blasting fury accompanied by skillful tempo shifts and breakdowns. Additionally, Beard characterized Rob Proctor as a "inhuman beast of a drummer" for his expertly timed stops.

Writing for Maximumrocknroll, Felix Von Havoc describes the political punk and metal roots of the band, stating "Assück managed to combine the anger, fury and social commentary of a punk band with the musicianship and production quality of a death metal band."

Paul Pavlovich (born March 3, 1970) is an American artist, graphic designer, and musician. Currently living in St. Petersburg, Florida, he is best known as the first vocalist for Assück, which he co-founded in 1987. In October 2008, IGN Entertainment named Pavlovich one of the '10 Best Death Metal Singers' stating "In terms of the guys doing the deeper or what some fans call "guttural" vocal style, Pavlovich is in an elite class".