Album Review: Aggravator

I listened to Aggravator’s second release, Sterile Existence, with the anticipation that it was
going to be a very run-of-the-mill thrash album. Album opener “Decapitator’s Temple” beginswith a clean guitar intro before beginning the 32-minute thrash metal outbreak.

Even those withlow expectations should be knocked out of their seats by how violently Aggravator storms in
violently with one of the strongest tracks they offer. The song’s ending has some particularly brutal riffing as well. Whether it’s played at a fast or slow tempo, every riff on the entire recording sounds like it was lifted from either Slayer or Exumer.

The album gets redundant pretty quickly, but its continuous heaviness still keeps things exciting. They deserve a chance from thrash fans because there are certainly other thrash bands today that are just as short on originality, but not as entertaining as Aggravator. Lead guitarist Jesse Lopez manages to deliver some impressive solos with occasional sweeping and less dependence on the tremolo bar than
one might expect.

The vicious, dry, raspy, and angry snarl of Derek Jones lean towards black metal, but work just as well for thrash metal.

Drummer Mike Cortes keeps things in time at the tempo that all thrash fans adore. One listen to the mid-tempo intro of “Abhorrent Point of View” will demonstrate how Cortes’s drum work is particularly reminiscent of Dave Lombardo’s as they ease to a slower pace. Bassist Tristan Hernandez’s performance is perhaps most prominent on closing track “Target Obliteration”.

Overall, the album’s highlights are the aforementioned starting cut “Decapitator’s Temple” and “High Impact Homicides”. Sterile Existence is an album strictly for thrash metal’s most fanatical collectors, and it doesn’t aspire to be anything else. If you are expecting or hoping for something else from these guys, you’ll find that Aggravator is a band that wholly lives up to its name.

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Nicholas Statuto    October 19, 2016