Band:	Municipal Waste
Album:	Massive Aggressive
Style:	Crossover thrash metal
Release date:	August 24, 2009
A review by:	BitterCOld

01. Masked By Delirium
02. Mech-Cannibal
03. Divine Blasphemer
04. Massive Aggressive
05. Wolves Of Chernobyl
06. Relentless Threat
07. The Wrath Of The Severed Head
08. Upside Down Church
09. Shredded Offering
10. Media Skeptic
11. Horny For Blood
12. Wrong Answer
13. Acid Sentence

Municipal Waste are back with another blazing fast offering of crossover thrash. Massive Aggressive lives up to its namesake. The band rips through 13 songs in a scant 28 minutes and change? it's an audio hurricane that showcases what we've come to know, love, and expect from the Waste.

The band is tight. Ryan Waste lays down tons of great riffs all at warps speed. Dave Witte is a beast behind the kit. Bassist Land Phil, who has traditionally gotten some space in the mix, now also gets the opportunity to show off some of his four string chops (see "Relentless Threat"), and singer Tony Foresta still shouts along with his traditional, more on the punk side of the crossover phenomenon vocals. There are still plenty of great, tongue-in-cheek song titles, too, like "Upside Down Church", "Horny For Blood", and "The Wrath Of The Severed Head."

The biggest things to musically distinguish this album from 2005's Hazardous Mutation and 2007's The Art Of Partying are the fact Phil gets to flex a bit more muscle (a good thing), Ryan's guitar tone is more crunched into the midrange, making it sound a bit harsher and less crisp than in past efforts (a "meh" thing, not sure if I prefer the new tone), and there is one, very short, guitar solo.

All in all, it's an enjoyable, ripping album. It is, in fact, massively aggressive. However it ultimately falls just a tad short of its predecessors. Not that I'm wishing that Municipal Waste turn into some crossover version of Korpiklaani with each MW album featuring prerequisite songs about booze, bongs, and partying like we are on the eve of the zombie apocalypse. (We are - plans are proceeding on schedule) However this album was a bit lacking in the wink/smile fun of their last couple and would have benefited from something with the spirit of "Lunch Hall Food Brawl" or "Bangover."

High points are "Upside Down Church" and "Media Skeptic."