Review by Luka on August 16, 2002.

Yes, I am aware the opening sentence is just a different wording for the band name, all I can say is that the group is very aptly named. Now let’s see what these boys have to offer... energy? Check! Great solos? Check! Aggression... unchecked! Sound cheesy? You bet that’s the vibe of this album. No hate, blood, gore or any of that nonsense, just ass-kicking old-school metal that makes for a damn good time or an even better live show. The comical intro will put you in the right mood as you witness the birth of this relatively unknown and unsigned band that thrashes like the best of them. Definitely one you’ll hear more about in the near future.

Unchecked Aggression are a breed of the classic Slayer or Overkill thrash metal style, laced on one end with some Maiden-esque melody and on the other with angry punk. While proudly waving the flag of metal’s past glory days, they throw in enough kicks to rock the world of any young metal fan of today. I am proof of that. For older fans the album will bring back rich memories of a metal era perhaps forever gone. Eleven songs, consistent throughout and varied, that manage get your body thrashing and your soul screaming for more. The musicianship of each member can hardly improve; all that is left for these guys to work on is tighter playing. Basically this is a band that has very little to improve on, and while this is fantastic at the moment, it may later come as hindrance in future days as their sound might waver.

For a self-released album I am amazed at the high quality production. Bass lines are exceptionally good and propel rhythms that get your head bobbing like mad. It is the guitars that drive the songs with most thrash metal bands, but here the situation is often times the opposite: it is the drums and bass that form the framework for the songs while the guitars add in clever licks and hard riffs. I think this is what makes Unchecked Aggression a more interesting outfit than many old-school bands. If these guys played in the 80’s they’d get attention for doing something different. Overall, it is hard to find a fault in this album, one reason I didn’t give it a higher score is because old-school thrash is not quite my cup of tea, with more albums like this, though, that may well change soon. Good stuff!

Bottom Line: Fast, mean, ass-spanking 80’s thrash from a modern band. One of this year’s better debuts.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 6.5
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Julio on December 21, 2021.

Some years ago, I saw Fabio Lione (Angra, Rhapsody Of Fire, Lione/Turilli Rhapsody and a lot more projects that I don’t care to count) saying that in Italy erudite music – I say erudite because the term “classical” is much more specific than people realize – is a very common thing in households and is usually that way children and young people start to study music. I imagine it must be rather similar in Germany.

Throughout the long history of heavy metal we saw many examples of erudite music being part of the genre, in greater or lesser degrees, and many of the times the bands which do that are from Germany. It is in their minds, it is part of them, the north star which guides them on the adventures through the deep oceans of the genre. So, it is absolutely no surprise that the boldest project mixing metal and erudite music comes from there, and also by no one else than the mighty Blind Guardian.

Twenty years in the making and this record is worth each and every day of the waiting. No guitars? No bass? No drums? Who the hell cares? All the essence of the songwriting that makes Blind Guardian so special and so unique are there, and in the end of the day, that’s what really matters. The epic-ness, the bombastic chorus, the breathtaking and heartwarming passages, the inimitable voice of Hansi Kürsch who leads you effortlessly to a world of magic, fantasy, adventures and imminent danger and darkness. It’s pretty much a proper opera, standing on the shoulders of Teutonic giants. How not to love it?

This is an album in which you can feel all the painstaking hours of hard work, by Hansi and André, but also of the people who made it possible to translate their ideas to the musical sheet of a full blown orchestra in the right way. The very same orchestra, the choir, the back singers, Markus Heitz and the world he helped to set up in his book Die Dunkle Land. Even more than a piece of great music, it is a piece of love, a chunk of the soul of those creative minds who refuse to settle for what is comfortable and guaranteed. The ones who acknowledge that the only way is forward.

But it is a “near perfect” output. The downside to me is that the interludes – even though playing an import role on the storytelling – eventually become a bit too much to swallow, making the audition flirting with tiredness and sluggishness. Maybe it would work better with only half of them disposed differently and with some music behind for more impact and more immersion (but I gotta admit that the narrators from Nightfall in Middle-Earth made me shed a tear of two). The other thing that sting me is the story itself. All that religious and biblical and Book of the Revelation motifs are too much beaten and worn down to my taste and, honestly, it goes dangerously borderline with cheesiness and cliché. I think Hansi could come with something fresher for this project.

But you know what? I don’t really care about the story; the music is just to awesome and fantastic that I am willing to let it pass and sing along from the top of my lungs. Easily my favorite album of 2019 and a surely a career peak to André and Hansi. May the Twilight Orchestra gather again. The Gods know I will ride this train.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10