Metal Underground.com

Playing on the term “passive aggressive,” Municipal Waste’s “Massive Aggressive” is just as frantic as it sounds. The thirteen thrashy tracks, the longest song lasting three minutes and one second, take the listener on a trip to the past in a sweet ’89 Firebird. The gang choruses will force you to growl along and the drums create the beat to head bang by. Not every track is a blazing fast, though. Some merely move at 200 mph.

Every song on this album begins with a guitar or drum intro that sets up the basic riff. The award for best intro goes to “Relentless Threat.” It was simple, but the distortion on the guitar just made it awesome. Each song ended so abruptly, it feels like someone made a mistake and cut the song off before it was actually over. This effect was almost jarring, but a fresh song followed to launch you right into another bout of rock. Vocalist Tony Foresta explores his vocal range more than in previous albums. Instead of just spewing out words in a choppy way, he changes pitches and uses syncopation to use his voice as an additional instrument. Some tracks like “Acid Sentence” have more aggressive hardcore-type vocals, but for the most part, the vocals are very interesting. Ryan Waste does an excellent job on the riffs. Each one is different and incredible in its own way. He made the title track “Massive Aggressive” stand out by playing in a very low key. The song is very heavy. The following song “Wolves of Chernobyl” also has notable riffs and a great solo. Ryan’s talent is so good that I was left wanting to hear more solos from him.

What is a thrash band without a drummer? Dave Witte has a massive range of playing styles that he uses in “Massive Aggressive.” He plays very fast in “Masked by Delirium” and “Relentless Threat.” He can also play a heavy, dark rock-pace beat like in “Upside Down Church” and “Shredded Offering.” Bassist Andy Harris had some notable moments, but he was masked by the other craziness occurring. The bass was prominent is “Massive Aggressive,” and I wish I could have heard more like it.

Municipal Waste throws so much energy at the listener it’s almost too much to handle in one sitting. Soon after you get through it, you’ll be singing the gang choruses and shredding on your favorite air guitar. There are some moments where the music sounds almost metalcore, but the rest of the song more than covers the less exciting moments. It’s all so hectic it makes you feel massive aggressive.