Review by Greg on November 27, 2023.

I should know Extrema as one of the most prominent bands of the Italian landscape, but I'll have to admit that my absolute first exposure to their music was only last year, when I caught them among the opening bands of a big festival here. They seemed to have a great impact in a live setting although, for the record, I still don't regret having traded the attendance of half of their show for a bit more rest in my hotel room, after a long trip. In any case, the band has a very long history, going as far back as the eighties, but only started releasing albums in the following decade, after the rise to prominence of bands like Pantera. The mention wasn't casual – Extrema had since become synonymous with groove metal, more than the thrash-oriented sound of their beginnings. No wonder they'd always eluded me, in retrospect.

Fast forward to 2019, and their 7th and latest effort Headbanging Forever might present something worth a spin. There's some new blood in the group, with powerhouse drummer Francesco La Rosa (also appeared in Ultra-Violence, among others) joining the fray, and vocalist Tiziano Spigno replacing the band's original frontman GL Perotti. Both do what's expected from the new faces – aiming for the performance of their lives. La Rosa pounds the skins as if he had replaced his broken sticks with two sledgehammers, and overall gives everything he can in what's still essentially a thrash/groove environment. Meanwhile, Spigno brings a rather American gritty timbre to the scenario, sounding awfully similar to Flotsam and Jetsam's Eric A.K., albeit not as pleasant on the higher notes. All the ingredients for an energetic experience seem to be in place, and the first tracks confirm the impression, with especially 'Borders of Fire' and 'For the Loved and the Lost' doing the most with their constant alternation of tempos. Nothing revolutionary, and Extrema sound like they're still mourning the end of the '90s, to clarify, but there's enough material in both areas to keep you initially interested (check also the honestly weighty riff of 'Invisible' or the solid 'Paralyzed'). When stretching to the album's playing time, though, there simply aren't any surprises to be found; just the same formula repeated over and over, with the songs inevitably losing more and more steam the further we go, and the (somewhat predictably) sterile production doesn't really help.

Headbanging Forever might have been conceived with live shows in mind, but I can't say it was a particularly enticing experience when sitting at my desk. I did my best to avoid restricting my criticisms within the concept of 'it just doesn't thrash enough' as, for all I know, Extrema might still not be considered a 'pure' thrash metal band anymore. But let's put it this way – for an album bearing such a title, it turned out to be false advertising.

Rating: 6 out of 10