Music like Assassin

Assassin was a heavy metal band that was formed in San Diego during the summer of 1983 by guitarists Thom Beebe and Vinnie Cavarra. They sought out noted drummer Leroy Vega and, in recruiting him, also lucked into a vocalist, his friend Pete Papps, both of whom had previously played in the band Vengeance with future Dio guitarist Craig Goldy. After a brief stint with bassist Neil Foote, the band settled into its classic early line-up with the addition of Chicago native John Osmon on bass, another former Vengeance member.

Thom brought in a handful of songs from his previous band, Child, which had briefly featured Jake E. Lee on second guitar, and Vinnie had a few songs as well. Assassin took these songs, broke them down, and molded each one to suit the band's direction. With a solid core of material, they began writing Assassin originals that ran from sleazy power blues to hard rockers.