Aggression – Moshpirit (2009) [Xtreem] // Grade: B-

A couple of days ago I picked up the album Moshpirit by the Aggression. Knowing nothing about this band or this album, I decided to give it a listen with a totally open mind and not look up anything about them before I listened. From the title alone I kind of assumed that English was a going to be a second language and that some sort of Thrash/Crossover was in order. The logo, necessarily pointy, threw me off though. Could this be deathy? Even slightly blackened? Who knows? Anyways, down to the listening.

First up, the intro. Guns, check, ’splosions, check, unidentified growling, wailing for bloody mercy, definitely check.

And then the thrashing begins. Totally fucking called it. Right out of the gate the neo-thrash with just a tiny hint of old school Morbid Angel runs with a generous helping of vocals straight out of the 80’s pre-deathcookiemonstergrowl school. If it weren’t for the production this could have easily come out when Legacy became Testament and Metal Church was something you could blast without having to explain yourself… sorta… Fuck you, I like Metal Church.

In terms of the neo-thrash (at this point I kind of assumed it was neo and not some undiscovered gem from the past) Aggression is significantly more of a throwback band than say a Municipal Waste or a Black Tide. Very little of this album has to do with music released after State of Euphoria and it seems like Aggression is pretty stoked on that. Just put on the title track, “Moshpirit” and tell me that these dudes weren’t all a bunch of burnouts living in their mom’s basements, doing bong hits, playing 15 year old ataris and listening to Overkill.

Anyways, overall, Moshpirit is a fairly decent chunk of neo-thrash eliciting thoughts like, “Ah yes, the windmill jam. I hear in Holland they use songs like this to generate electricity. Unfortunately, “heshing” hasn’t been deemed a sustainable, renewable form of energy by the international bodies as of yet.” However, by the end of the 4th song it starts to drag. Most of the songs feature pretty similar riffs and tone, none of the solos really stand out past, “Sick brah, shred it” and they’re not really taking thrash anywhere it hasn’t been taken before. These are just a bunch of dudes who love metal and wanna preach that shit to whoever happens to be listening.

Doing a little research my guesses of “the eternally black heart of Eastern Europe” and I dunno, prolly “the Basque Country or something” turned out to be pretty on the mark as Aggression hail from Spain. The accents are actually kind of endearing. Makes it feel more sincere than just some more throwbackers copping the Waste.

If you’re in the mood to throw on some straight ahead, no frills thrash and get down to the business headbanging then go head and throw this on. Kudos if you can make it to the end without switching over to Spreading the Disease.