Aggressa-Nuclear Death + Demo 1 LP

Iron Bonehead Productions

2013

Right up front it should be mentioned that this one is a vinyl only limited-release. All information (in regards to limited run amount, track info, booklet info, etc.) is listed below if you're interested in the actual packaging. What's pertinent to this review is the meat of the matter-the music. Hailing from Australia, and actually active during the mid-late eighties, Aggressa played a raw form of speed metal thrash that lived up to their name's suggestion (aggression). Although they could have also been called something like slopptallica. Not because they sounded like Metallica, but because of how sloppy they played their take on extreme metal. Forget that these cuts come from demo recordings, which in and of itself does give this LP a rather underground vibe, and focus on the actually music/playing. There's nods to Venom, early Tank, Avenger and Exciter. Then again the band also echos such acts as Razor, At War and Possessed (if Possessed were more of a sloppy, Motörhead-inspired garage metal outfit!) as well as tearing through groups like Cryptic Slaughter, Hobbs Angel Of Death and Slayer. For the record the band did feature future Sadistik Exekution drummer/well-traveled veteran musician Sloth (Peter Zantey) and his drumming skills are duly noted. But, overall these recordings show a raw Australian band that were not quite ready for the big-time. Of course that means two things. The first thing would be that it would be easy enough to write off this LP collection of demo tracks as a sorry mess of sloppy, way to fast for their own good speed metal/thrash noise. The second thing you could do though would be to enjoy these acts for what they are-a group of guys playing thrash metal the best they could all while bowing down at the alters of their idols (Venom for sure, but then you do pick up on pieces and parts of  everything/everyone from Dark Angel to German thrash such as early Sodom and early Destruction). I actually find myself falling somewhere towards the second point although I do have to admit that some of these cuts are too crazy-fast for their own good. In the end this one is more of a history lesson on the early Australia extreme metal scene and is thus most-likely best suited for those looking to add to their personal collection of said scene. 

300g Jacket With 3mm Spine And Gloss Varnish

- 140g Black Vinyl

- Featuring The "Nuclear Death" Recordings '87/'88, "Demo I" '86/'87, And One Unreleased Track From '87. Sloth of Sadistik Exekution Hammering The Drums!

- 4 Page Insert On 250g Art Paper Gloos

- Authorised By Craig Martin (Guitar)/AGGRESSA

- Limited To 300 Copies

- tracks 1-7 "Nuclear Death" MLP; tracks 8-11 "Demo I"; track 12 for a compilation that was never released

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