AGGRESSOR came into fruition in 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This album featured a different lineup than the current Aggressor band; but none-the-less ... this album featured many songs from their demo "Pure Canadian Aggression". In 2010 the band released a new EP entitled "Staring Down At You" only 250 copies were pressed and was released at a Toronto gig, with thrash legends RAZOR! [I WISH I was at that show :( ], also on this EP a new Aggressor lineup was featured. Currently their second full length effort is slated for release on February 3rd, 2012. They will be having a CD release gig on the Feburary 3rd at Sneaky Dee's in toronto with Fatality, Diemonds, and Shotgun Cure; so if your in the Toronto area, don't miss this!! [I'll be there]
So now that you know Aggressor; on with the review!
As we all know there is a overwhelming number of new thrash bands that have come to life in the past few years, it's now gotten to the point that on any given day you will see multiple thrash CD's being released. This opens the floodgates for a listener to be bombarded by mediocre and terrible sounding thrash metal. But through all this over saturation there are bands that bring something new to the table, and that's what Aggressor does with Rape The Willing.
The album starts off with a smoker of a riff; that lets you know your in for some modern thrashy goodness. The way an album starts is really key for any style of music, it has to pull the listener in and make them want to sit through the rest of it; as they say first impressions can never be changed.
As you progress through the album, you can see that the band is heavily influenced by all the usual suspects of classic thrash, but not to the point that you could pick out a song or songs and, say that sounds like [insert classic big time thrash band here]. This is nice. Originality is key in standing out in this new wave, and Aggressor has done a good job of worshiping but still staying unique and having their own sound.
Getting down to the meat and potatoes of this album, the production is fantastic, every instrument is nice and clear. The mixing is also fantastic, the bass is nice and high in the mix, this is always nice to see.
The guitar work is really nice. There are many, many riffs that will have you headbanging in no time. The riffs are really catchy, aggressive, and speedy; all the proper ingredients for good thrash. The songs are arranged nicely, and you can really tell the band is really cohesive on this record. The speed also doesn't really let up at all during the whole album, except for one track. Which funny enough I didn't like at all. As well as the songs are written; there are times where I felt the songs should of been trimmed down in time, and they should of played a few riffs less times than they did. Also at times, you feel as if the songs are droning a bit, but even with those shortcomings the songs are still memorable, and still a blast to listen too.
The drumming on this album is also nice. It's more than just your stock thrash metal drumming that we've all heard over and over again. There is some really nice double kick work, and some nice fills peppered through out the songs. It's not the most groundbreaking of percussion work, but it's interesting enough, and defiantly compliments and adds to the songs.
As mentioned earlier the bass is nicely placed in the mix, and is audible; but suffers from the most common problem in thrash metal ... it just follows the guitar. This isn't really a huge deal, but i feel as if bass fills compliment songs immensely, and defiantly would of worked in some of the songs on this album. It's audible, and nicely in the mix; it's just mundane, as most bass work is in thrash.
Vocals are a mixed situation. There are times where the vocals sound great, and then there are times where they just aren't working. The vocalist has mix between pantera-esque vocals meet tom araya style aggression, with some higher melodies thrown in for good measure. The times they aren't working are not as frequent as when they ARE working. The vocalist has some nice range, and it can be heard on this album. When the vocals are working, they sound real good. I defiantly enjoyed them more, than didn't. The vocals are memorable; for sure.
Overall this album is a fun listen, and one that you will defiantly come back too, and throw on your mp3 player. It does have it's downfalls, but overall it has more going right than wrong. This is above average modern thrash, in a over saturated scene full of mediocrity.
I give this a solid 7/10.
-Fritz
Contact me at: osiriswebzine2011@gmail.com
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