Italian speed merchants going all out to zoom out the power chords in the rising Italian fashion. Gritty guitar sound with quick whacks and those tongue-in-cheek twisting vocals. Raw, intense, and to the hilt, this is one good record.
DISPER-AZIONE kick up a nasty dust-cloud of dark, energetic chord progressions in their mid-tempo HC, add some powerful vocals, and also opt for lots of self-indulgent lead guitar breaks. When disciplined, as on the superb title track, this band is stunning; otherwise, this album is still rather impressive, but flawed.
Two french bands of the HC variety. FINAL BLAST’s tunes are in a melodic vein with a somewhat English mid-tempo thrash feel, while RAPT are definitely on the noisy, raw production side of short-song thrash. As raw and “beginner” as this side is, I liked it better than all the pop shit I heard today.
Another very hot recent Italian hardcore release. Gnarly, well-produced political thrash, intense vocals—good all the way around. Get it!
Thrash for the most part, but broken up with changes that are a bit jazz-rocky. Several Italian HC bands seem to have these varied influences, some of which I find distracting, however eclectic and broad their tastes. Others may appreciate the variety. When they rely on power, they really wail.
Italy’s premier scorching attack delivers an outrageous LP’s worth of material. Packaging includes a nice cover illustration by Stiv (TVOR) and a lyric sheet insert, with the translations in English, showing some well thought out writings. WRETCHED continues their thrash barrage with powerful guitars and booming drums as vocals hoarsely growl through lung-filled vocals. Well-produced, for all fans of good, powerful international hardcore. Exceptional.
I’ve always been a great fan of WRETCHED’s loose, powerful brand of hardcore, but I’m not as impressed by this release. Much of the manic energy is still there; yet, the “live” feel of this disc gives the production less density than usual, and the guitar wanking was a real annoyance. Still, “La Tua Morte…” is a powerhouse track.
