Extrema
Set the World on Fire

There are two Italian metal bands that I really go crazy for: Rhapsody and Extrema (two bands that, together, have nothing to do with each other, but let's overlook that). And it's the latter that I will now review.

Their latest work, "Set The World On Fire" (a pretty explicit title), sees Extrema returning to the pure and hard thrash of their beginnings, without forgetting some nu-metal elements of "Better Mad Than Dead" and some additional sounds. Noteworthy songs; my absolute favorite is "The Will To Live", while the most thrashy one is definitely "New World Disorder." It winks at punk sounds (oh dear...) "Second Coming." They recover with "Nature" and with "Stupid White Man," while the title track is very rap-like and could even remind one of the best De La Rocha. The Motorhead cover "Ace Of Spades" is decently performed. "Six Six Six Is Like Sex Sex Sex" (as soon as I read this title, I literally burst out laughing...) has very interesting songwriting, but it doesn't have the same punch as the others... it’s a mix between thrash and hardcore "Restless Soul." The semi-grunge ballad "Free Again" is rather flat; I much prefer the instrumental "Carol," which gives the listener a moment of pause after various outbursts. The hard rock experiment "Don't Leave Me Alone" is interesting instead, a really well-executed piece.

Overall, Extrema's third album is an excellent work that presents a decent variety of styles all executed with intelligence. Sure, there are some flaws ("Second Coming" and "Free Again" didn't appeal to me at all...), but I think they can be easily overlooked. The performance of the band members is very good: singer G.L.Perotti proves that he has further improved after the first albums, guitarist Tommy Massara is, in my opinion, the true mastermind behind the success of "Set The World On Fire" and the "nervous" drumming of the new member Paolo Crimi is adequately contrasted by the pulsating and groovy sound of the bass.

A truly interesting album that I highly recommend to everyone!!!