Extreme Aggression

Dust Bolt – Awake the Riot Review

Dust Bolt – Awake the Riot Review

“You know, we just don’t review enough thrash metal anymore. It’s all that damn death metal we waste our days discussing. It makes us forget the simple joys of a speedy, jacked up dose of aural frenzy ripped right from 1986. Luckily for us all, Dust Bolt is around to remind us, and their sophomore album Awake the Riot is designed with German precision to do just what the title says. As on their Violent Demolition debut, these chaps rock a hybrid of Kreator circa Extreme Aggression and Coma of Souls and the classic Bay Area sound, especially Slayer.” Ready to drop your retro cash on some retro thrash?

Exarsis – The Brutal State Review

Exarsis – The Brutal State Review

“One of the stranger parts of American culture is the phenomena of the Civil War reenactment. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is exactly what it sounds like: History buffs and other geeks dress in 1860’s-era clothing, meet at a public place, and painstakingly recreate some of our nation’s most infamous battles. As fun as this might be to watch, the reenactments are somewhat predictable, because every single time (with one exception) the outcome is exactly the same. If you can imagine the futility of witnessing the same battle over and over again, fully knowing how it will end, then you are beginning to understand how difficult it is to review retro thrash albums.” And that brings us to the dulcet tones of Greek thrashers Exarsis. Mr. Fisting thinks these guys just made one of the better Bay Area thrash records of 1989, except that they’re from Greece and it’s 2013. That poses a problem.