Agony - The First Defiance (1987)

Cool album cover, this bucket of Euro thrash throws the guitars in your face immediately, the production values not allowing the vocals or percussion to rise above a wishy-washy whisper, but in its primal rage there's something endearing about the naivety of it all. Eight tracks, straight from the late '80s cavern, lacking any type of direction, the whole seemingly amateurish cacophony melts together as Lundstrom's average vocals are lost in the mix of again, those clanking, buzzing guitars. Nothing spectacular about it at all, but it doesn't bore me and seems very much of its time but of course the competition at the time was formidable, but bands such as Agony clearly existed on their enthusiasm alone. Strom and Sjolin's twon guitar attack seems to over run the record, but it's a steady mess that is leagues below the likes of Kreator and Coroner, but has a basement quality which at times can be cute, as long as one doesn't succumb to too much of it. The image on the sleeve means the band flatter to deceive greatly, but many a thrash head probably owned this slab of primal rage.

5.5./10