Aggravator - Unseen Repulsions

“Unseen Repulsions” is the 3rd EP from Texas based thrashers Aggravator. Fast, to the point, and with tons of groove those who like a mix of Exodus, Dew Scented, and Death will find the music quite enjoyable, despite being so brief. Aggravator use the pretty basic speed thrash formula- tons of catchy riffs with a hyperblast snarl and a mid paced slam on the guitars. Tracks like ‘Unseen Repulsions’ and ‘Fragmented Identity’ definitely have that Dew Scented approach to them with their tendency to have groove laden chugs and then explode into some concrete slamming speed riffs. ‘Searing Gas Decomposition’ is more up the Exodus route with a steady pace all the way through and not so much in the stop n’ go moments, though they refuse to let up on the groove, especially considering a track like ‘Infinite War.’

At the same time Aggravator does take the pitfall despite its focus on groove to tend to sound the same on a lot of the tracks. It is a little hard to discern where a track like ‘Fragmented Identity’ starts and ‘Bounty Hunter’ ends so those who are big fans of the thrash genre might find the lack of variety between tracks little boring for their taste. Still, this group has tons of head banging moments such as the chug driven chorus of ‘Infinite War’ or the Metallica “Kill ‘Em All” rhythms of ‘Seven Swords.’ Heavy metal and thrash fans alike will enjoy this short ride, especially if they have never heard them before. Fans so far have been pretty positive towards their style so hopefully these thrashers do not wear out listeners with their latest EP. It is thrash to the core, but will garner both the love and hate of those who know of the likes of the big 3 such as Slayer, Exodus, or Testament.

3.5 / 5 STARS


1. Unseen Repulsions
2. Fragmented Identity
3. Searing Gas Decomposition
4. Infinite War
5. Bounty Hunter
6. Seven Swords


Label: https://www.facebook.com/empirerecordsbe
Band: https://www.facebook.com/aggravatorthrashmetal
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
May 7, 2021
Next review: Wheel - Preserved In Time

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