Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive

If any one band can be credited with the thrash revival of late it would have to be Richmond's Municipal Waste. They released their blistering self-titled EP in 2001 and it was on from there. A few splits later in 2003 we have their first full length, and then in 2005 what was arguably the tipping point for the new wave of thrash metal, Hazardous Mutation, saw the light of day. After The Art of Partying gave the band much publicity and a reputation for putting on insane live shows and, of course, partying. So what does their latest release have to offer?

To be honest, nothing new and nothing interesting either. The only thing different from their 2007 release is slightly cleaner production and the AWOL party aesthetic. Tony Foresta, their frontman, had mentioned several times in interviews that he wanted to distance the band from the party vibe that had been attributed to them, and I'm glad he stuck to his word and did what he wanted to do, but that schtick was working out for them insanely well. I had hoped that his concerns for moving the band's vibe in a different direction would mean expanding musically, but that just isn't the case.

Technically there's nothing wrong with the record. The production is top notch, the musicianship is great, the riffs are stupendous, and the band members sound like they're really into it, but we've all heard this before. I honestly can't point out anything that's bad about the album, other than it's samey. What made the crossover bands of old so interesting was that they were on a journey of sorts from hardcore to metal and they were treading completely new territory. They were expanding their musical horizons, but MW seems content on releasing their same brand of crossover for quite some time.

I guess I'll still be endorsing the Waste from here on out as an excellent live show (almost got my nose broken in Atlanta, fuck yeah) but my hopes for future records will be considerably lower. It's a matter of personal preference whether or not Municipal's lack of expansion bothers you. Just don't keep hoping that they'll release something else as earth shattering as Hazardous Mutation anytime soon.