AGGROS – Rise Of The Aggros
April 22, 2023, a year ago
(Wildfire NYC)
All-instrumental/guitar-driven albums can oft-times be a real snoozefest. And it’s pretty unheard of in this day and age for an instrumental rock album to not focus on a shred-happy guitarist to hold your attention. So, it makes Rise Of The Aggros – the debut offering by Aggros (led by Cro-Mags co-founder/guitarist Parris Mayhew) – all the more impressive. Mayhew always had a knack for creating killer Sabbath-meets-Motörhead guitar riffs and bits, and this has apparently not waned in all the years since the release of what is considered to be the album that trailblazed the now-commonplace ‘hardcore-metal’ sub-genre, Cro-Mag’s 1986 debut, The Age Of Quarrel.
Having not been a Cro-Mag since 2001, Mayhew forgoes any vocals and enlists the aid of drummer Cobz, pianist (yes, pianist!) Dierk Peters, with Mayhew providing bass and the majority of the guitar work (although special guest Chuck Lenihan – formerly of another standout New York hardcore-metal band, the Crumbsuckers – provides some speed-solos). The end result is what sounds like what would be the perfect soundtrack for a skater or surfer flick – especially such standouts as the crunchy album opener “Chaos Magic,” the frantic “City Kids,” and the thrash-y “Sk8bored Fight.” Hopefully, Aggros continue to rise beyond this promising and impressive debut.
