Pound for Pound

Pound for Pound is the 2009 Extrema comeback and it was described as one of their most thrash metal oriented albums. I was quite skeptical at first, since the recent efforts displayed clear signs of nu-metal inside and since this band has never been that coherent during their career: they periodically changed as the market changed to gain more money. I could expect anything from this album but it surprised me in a good way. Maybe they decided to change the style because of some critical signs form the audience and the fans or they met a pushy boss, who knows. The fact is Extrema came back with a more thrash metal oriented effort even if “thrash” is a different thing.

First of all, the beginning is for the melodic notes by the guitars of “Everlasting” song, to suddenly explode into two thrash/groove attacks: “Anymore” and “Selfishness”. The classic Extrema groove elements are wisely and powerfully mixed with the thrash riffs as the drummer plays fast and clear. The production, finally, exalts the drums and the thrash metal riffs without too many basses like in the past; the ones utilized for the groove/nu-metal parts. Everything here sounds more simple, genuine but always powerful and nasty. Even the singer has abandoned his nu-metal timbre to be angrier and more bound to the thrash metal style.

The weak elements can be found in some songs like the modern and repetitive “The Bad Itself” and the harmless combination of funky elements to the groove of “Fat Liars” but we cannot forget the thrash metal restarts of a good “Frowning And Haggard”. Often the mid-paced sections are made of the classic stop and go riffs but they are not annoying because they are fast and with this production they do not conserve the modern shadow. “Fall Down” is another good song and its refrain is good too because is a bit different from the rest and a bit more accessible for the melody, creating a good contrast.

“Deuce” is a good Kiss cover, as “From the 80s” like the title says, inevitably looks back to the great times and the violence of this song is not common for Extrema. Towards the end we find the semi-ballad “my Misery”, in which the classic Pantera style ballads influences can be found in high quantities. We reach the end of the album with the mediocre and modern “F.Y.W.” and at the end I can easily say that this album more or less goes through all the career of this band and it passes from the thrash metal beginning to fall into the groove period. A good surprise.