Album Review: Onslaught - Origins of Aggression
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Forty years after the release of their debut album, UK old school thrashers Onslaught commemorate this milestone with “Origins Of Aggression” which is a whopping two disc collection of re-recordings and cover songs. Guitarist Nige Rockett may be the only remaining member of the 1985 line-up but the current iteration of Onslaught does a cracking job of commemorating the bands 80’s material as well as songs that influenced and shaped the band.
The first disc is made up of ten re-recordings spanning the band’s first three albums and these were three quite different sounding albums with the material from each album showing how Onslaught progressed their sound through the 1980’s. There are four songs from 1985’s debut “Power From Hell” which are far more influenced by hardcore punk such as the short, sharp attack of ‘Thermonuclear Devastation Of The Planet Earth’ and ‘Black Horse Of Famine’ whilst ‘Power From Hell’ showcases the thrash attack the band would become known for. “The Force” is the most celebrated of the Onslaught albums and showed the band’s transition into full on thrash with four songs from said record such as ‘Let There Be Death’ and ‘Fight With The Beast’ demanding that heads are banged and necks are broken. To finish off the first disc, there are two songs from the band’s most contentious album “In Search Of Sanity” which originally featured the late great Steve Grimmett of Grim Reaper on vocals and showed Onslaught moving into a far more melodic thrash direction. We get a far grittier, aggressive and relentless take on these songs which sounds absolutely killer even though I am a massive fan of the original versions.
The second disc is made up of twelve cover songs “that shaped Onslaught into the band they are today—songs that were jammed at rehearsals and tracks that inspired the band to pick up an instrument and play”. The songs are a mix of classic heavy metal and hardcore punk with bands ranging from Motörhead, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath to The Exploited, GBH and Dead Kennedys. Discharge have been a clear influence and a personal favourite for Onslaught as they get three separate cover songs in this collection. The hardcore punk covers are the most effective being full of energy and ferocity though the cover of Killing Joke’s ‘Wardance’ is damn good.
“Origins Of Aggression” is a fine commemoration of the early years of Onslaught with the band in fine form and especially frontman David Garnett who continues to impress with his caustic vocal delivery proving to be an incredible fit for the band.. The re-recorded songs are fairly true to the originals but everything is a bit tightened up as well as far better produced than the 80’s originals but they do lack a bit of the old school charm. Although far more polished, the re-recordings do sound brilliant and the band themselves are so impressed with how the new versions of the songs from “In Search Of Sanity” have come out, I believe they now plan to re-record the rest of the album. The cover versions are fun and a great nod to the old school acts that influenced a young Onslaught. This may be a release mainly for the fans but it is tremendous fun and an excellent commemoration of early Onslaught. I know some see re-recordings as blasphemy but these ones are done well and with plenty of love and respect for the original material. 80’s Onslaught given a 21st century makeover. If that isn’t for you, then the original albums are still there to enjoy.
