Extrema
Tension At The Seams

"Tension At The Seams" is the first album by Extrema, one of the most important bands in the Italian thrash metal scene. This record was released back in 1993 and amazed many fans and professionals with its powerful, compact, and aggressive sound, becoming the band's most important work. The album combined the thrash style of Pantera with the catchy impact of Metallica, with some flashy funky bass lines.

Moving to the music, it starts with the great and furious "Join Hands", characterized by the initial scream and fast and perfectly thrash riffs, which could easily compete with those of Anthrax or Metallica. The second track "Child O' Boogaow", for which they also shot a video, initially features frantic and powerful rhythms before arriving at more cadenced riffs, with an excellent performance by the vocalist. It continues with the great "Displaced", filled with very heavy and powerful riffs in Pantera style, enriched by a great performance from the whole band. The fourth track is a cover of The Police, "Truth Hits Everybody", taken from the album "Outlandos D'Amour", completely transformed by Extrema's perfect style (who knows if Sting has ever heard it?). The next song is "Modern Times", perhaps more cadenced and slow compared to the others, yet still a great piece often performed live. The following ones, "Double Faces" and "Road Pirates", are very fast and heavy, but they manage to convince less than the others. The eighth track, "Lawyers Inc.", begins with a decidedly funky bass riff, then continues with the usual fast thrash rhythm and a good performance by singer Gianluca Perotti. The last three songs, "And The Rage Awaits", "For God They Die", and "Life", offer a good dose of powerful riffs and furious rhythms, enriched by some funky bass variations.

The CD continues with the EP "Proud Powerful And Alive" where we can hear some songs from "Tension At The Seams" in a live version, concluding this wonderful Extrema album, which represents one of the most important records in the Italian metal scene.