Wargasm

Ugly (Massacre/Century Media)
by Joe Hacking
photo by Chris Johnson

As a result of dealings with evil businessmen during the immoral ’80s, Wargasm are only now getting the push they’ve deserved for so long. With the release of Ugly (Massacre Records/Century Media), these unsung local heroes finally have entered the market.

Ugly contains all the thrash trio’s classics from their EPs as well as newer stuff. It thrashes, crashes, dices, and slices. Working with a sound long-abandoned by the mainstream, Wargasm is proudly continuing to hone their skills as musicians and non-conformists. In this day and age of grunge and sludge, their mid-’80s thrash and burn is refreshing without being nostalgic. There’s enough production to their orchestrated drone so the rawness isn’t lost. While most thrash and death metal singers sound like a demon puking, Wargasm’s Bob Mayo sounds like your average, angry human.

At the Middle East, the thrashing threesome bashed through old standards like “Dreadnaut Day” and “Knee Deep in Blood” and roared, “This next song’s going to be our first video on MTV!” before lunging into “The Rudest Awakening.” As lame as MTV may be, video exposure on the bandwagon station of Western Civilization is a sign that Wargasm might just make it all the way this time.