Aggressive By Nature - Liminal ★★★☆☆
Updated: Mar 8
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THRASH-O-METER
★★★★☆ SONGWRITING
★★★★☆ THEMES
★★★☆☆ LONGEVITY
★★☆☆☆ PRODUCTION
★★★★☆ THRASHABILITY
★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T
One of February's highlight Thrash Metal albums comes from an independent, self-published band from the land of moose ridin' and syrup eatin'... you know the one!
Aggressive By Nature is without a doubt one of the best literal iterations of Classic Old School Thrash Metal from the days gone; mid-tempo, kinda crappy sound, unpolished powerful vocals, and songwriting chops not hindered by genre restrictions. There is a delightful kind of naivete and freshness here that you can't but love the hell out of!
Album-making is a lost art, goddammit!
I'll start with what matters most to me: the songwriting. Now, when I said "literal iterations" earlier by no means I meant that these fellas are copycatting the greats note-by-note. I'm talking about the courage to write different kinds of songs in genre music such as Thrash Metal - thats the only way proper, classic albums are made. I could veer into a rant about Metallica pushing past genre borders but y'all know the story.
The joy of listening to an album comes from ups and downs, sense of drama and the segmental cohesion to convey the journey into becoming whole. These fellas are on the verge of blossoming... into what? Beats the hell outta me. Liminal is a step up from their previous album Rebirth, so even with linear development the next album is bound to grab my attention.
Sure, there's some fairly familiar note progressions and powerchords here and there here - but you really don't mind the genre conventions because they exist for a reason: they work and sound so, so goddamn delicious. Trying to re-invent the wheel with each step usually leads to sh!t anyways.
My absolute favourite on the album, 'Rapid Eye Movement', takes moshing head on and introduces a bloody great chorus to yelp to. The brutal instrumental piece 'March into Chaos' has you grimacing and nodding your head approvingly, vibin' like a motherfracker. 'Nevermore' reminds me of none other than the great Kind Diamond with its eerie balladesque habitus.
Thematically we visit each and everyone's favourite society induced personal hells from the self-explanatory 'Paranoid' to a result of an single-mindedness in 'Drive', where you'll for sure bounce your head to its simple stomp. I'll be damned if I didn't start thinking of Pantera during this one!
Suffice to say that Aggressive By Nature stands on its own two feet. Liminal is chock-full of songs with identity and if its not yet clear: these fellas have that rare spark that some folks (like myself) resonate to.
As an interesting anecdote its this type of minimalistic approach that a lot of modern Thrash Metal bands have trouble with. Speed, loudness and one more guitar solo are in many ways easier to manage. Knowing when to stop takes experience and letting the music breathe is an art by itself.
Its not all sunshine
The production is fair, but not what you'd call good. Drums sound narrow and lifeless, guitar playin' is occasionally a bit messy and overall the sound feels like its missing proper dynamics and the finer details to liven it up. It is what it is: an independent recording - and for that it gets a pass. Do yourself a service and hear past the demo effect. You'll be moshing to this sh!t fo' shizzle!
Aggressive By Nature's album Liminal is damn good and proper Thrash Metal album without the need for frill. Its a long-ass one, too! A whopping 55 minutes. There's some wisdom in platitudes such as how bits of some of the songs could've been left on the cutting room floor and few songs could've been mushed into one to make sh!t tighter. But! I'm not whining for what isn't - I'm loving the hell outta this one right here, right now!