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ATOMIC AGGRESSOR
Sights Of Suffering

Hells Headbangers (2014)
Rating: 8.5/10

I think it’s fair to say that Atomic Aggressor’s debut outing is long overdue; after all, these guys did form in 1985! However, I’ll give them their dues for the lack of activity in that after a batch of demos in the late 80s and early 90s, they eventually split in 1992. It was great news then that this Chilean cult metal act reunited in 2007, but it’s still taken them seven years to churn this bad boy out.

Okay, so it’s not exactly the original line-up. The band is fronted by bassist Alejandro Díaz, who first joined in the late 80s after replacing Alan Lenz. Alongside Díaz is drummer Álvaro Llanquitruf, who was enlisted within the ranks in 2012, and the double trouble guitar siege of Enrique Zúñiga and Julio Bórquez; Zúñiga appeared on the 1989 demo Bloody Ceremonial alongside the late Jaime Moya, while Bórquez is also a relatively new member. And so, with all those line-up changes and wasted years Atomic Aggressor finally gets its chance to quench the thirst of its patient fanbase with Sights Of Suffering; which is a joy to behold.

For those new to this quartet, I can only say that if you love thrashing death metal then you’re going to adore this ten-track festival of ferocity. With its constant lean towards Morbid Angel at its finest, Sights Of Suffering blends frantic, fast-paced rhythms with a dehydrated vocal rasp. Couple this with some cool, swirling solos and a fine amalgamation of slow mid-tempo thrash chugging and faster deathlier segments, and we have an absolute corker of a record that scorches from beginning to end.

Indeed, those who love that monstrous merging of pacey drums, wailing solos and then intriguing changes of pace should check out the goliath of a title track with its hammering drums and old school Slayer-styled solos of insanity. However, for an all-out orgy of speed then dive into the flesh chasms of opener ‘Faceless Torment’ which, although not as brutal or twisted as Morbid Angel, still offers similar layers of satanic darkness from that perverse riffage and those sneering, dry vocals. ‘Spawn Of Doom’ is another chaotic masterpiece featuring some fantastic twists and turns where blistering melody is combined with raw annihilation as the guitar sound quite literally lacerates the flesh in its barbed battery.

This is old school extreme metal, but a style of extremity which very much shows the new kids on the block how it’s done. I’ve been impressed with recent releases from Rude (Soul Recall) and Derogatory (Above All Else), and to some extent this walks hand in hand alongside those as fine examples of how a tried and trusted style can still be incorporated within the modern framework and current attitude.

This is nowhere near a mimic of all that’s gone before. Instead, Atomic Aggressor has thrown in every much required ingredient in order to serve up an intelligent feast of death metal, whether as a hazardous example of primitive speed or those occasional, vaguely complex slower grates as exhibited on the crawling menace of ‘Lords Of The Abyss’; a monumental track within a sturdy set of blackened numbers that will no doubt have extreme metal fans rockin’ to the rafters.

Although there may be too many contemporary bands paying homage to the past, at least Atomic Aggressor can actually say it was there and now they’ve stepped into 2015 and unleashed a real, rasping beast of a record.

Neil Arnold

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