Agga- Agga

Agga is a beast that consists of one member that goes by the name Lord of Babylon. The band is based in Florida and plays a style that I can only define as epic metal. Prepare yourself for some very well produced DIY metal that will have many bedroom band members putting their instruments up realizing that they can never bring forth a slab of metal as epic as the likes of Agga have with this album.

The album begins with a nice little intro and by the sounds of things nobody will be surprised to hear that the lyrical themes Agga deal in are related to Babylonian and Sumerian Mythology. After the intro ceases the first heavy track on the album kicks off. Titled after the sole member of Agga "The Lord Of Babylon" sets an atmosphere that makes the listener feel as though they are stumbling through a desert as vultures circle awaiting a corpse to feast upon. Fear not, the album doesn't fall in quality from here. All the tracks aside from the intro run over five minutes, while in many cases this could be the ruin of a band on their debut it is not the case for Agga. Lord Of Babylon manages to hold your attention without loosening his grip throughout the whole forty minute playtime of the record.

The vocal attack featured here is fairly straightforward. They consist of shrieks belted out in a psychotic manner at times. Cleans come into the mix on occasion as well as some spoken word sections. The cleans are very reminiscent of those featured on Morbid Angel's Domination album, very deep and booming in terms of tone. The style fits the epic atmosphere the instrumental work sets up.

Though the drumming on the album is coming from a drum machine it doesn't take too much away from the overall vibe the album gives off. As usual a human drummer wouldn't hurt but in Agga's case the main focus isn't on the drum sound and little attention is shown. Essentially it just serves it's purpose, and that purpose is to keep the pace for the display of instrumental mastery that the rest of the elements featured are achieving.

Overall it's hard not to enjoy Agga's debut. When listening to the album the forty minutes flies by like nothing and leaves your mouth watering, but it's okay all you have to do is click the play button again. This release is highly recommended to any fan of metal in general. It really is a shame this band hasn't gained more exposure. Prepare yourself for a journey that only The Lord Of Babylon has the power to take you on...