Following their 2 albums and 2 EP’s Texas Thrash Metallers AGGRAVATOR are back with their 3rd EP, out on April 16th via Empire Records.
Pummelling drums and speeding riffs fire into a frenzy of old school thrashing mania, immediately harkening back to the glory days of Slayer, Sodom, Kreator and Destruction. Visceral vocals drive forth a further aggression atop the ravenous and feral guitar and drum onslaught, it is a fast realisation that these Texan maniacs will only present the most raw, traditional ideas in the Teutonic vein of the 80s. The first couple of tracks waste no time in getting the EP heading on the road to carnage, as tight soloing erupts into the rhythmic battery before returning to a charged assault, this pattern is one that will become familiar in the record, and probably already is to those who are die-hard thrashers. A deathly edge also accompanies the music, giving it a more extreme edge than your average Thrash Metal band, again reminiscent of the German bands in their classic era. Certainly not a bad start at all.
The tightness of the musicians and the rather cutting production allows the flow of these 6 tracks to be easy to follow and memorable in their speeding insanity while not feeling polished or tepid. The more anthemic moments bring to mind Razor and Exciter while fitting seamlessly into the overall patchwork of blistering, mental Thrash Metal carnage. Those who were afraid that the genres roots were long forgotten need to hear bands such as Aggravator who really do nail the best days of the genre, while not feeling outdated or like some cheap tribute to cash in on nostalgia, these guys have plenty of killer ideas (especially riffs) of their own. The musicianship is phenomenal and even more importantly the feel of the record is absolutely ideal for the sound they are conveying. A monolith of old school thrashing ferocity.
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