Back to 1987

On my first visit to Agathocles’s page within Metal Archives I was shocked at how few reviews of their many releases there were. Then it dawned on me there were at least two reasons. First of all, while the group has always had a special place in my heart, I would never describe it as genre-defining. But the same applies to Vader and how many reviews do their releases have? So it probably boils down to the fact that punk-influenced political grindcore might not be what most metal fans really appreciate.

I really admire Jan’s integrity in what he has been doing over the years with the ever-changing line-up, even though I don’t necessarily share his political sympathies. We all know there is something seriously wrong with this world of ours but we differ vastly as to the ways in which to repair it (or whether to bother at all). It all doesn’t change the fact that everyone is welcome into the moshpit when AG is playing.

I decided to review this collection of old classics in new arrangements because they represent two different faces of the band, both of which I’m quite fond of. On the one hand, the tracks themselves hark back to the Agathocles prehistory. They are simple, short and sweet. There is this extreme punk nerve, melody and lust for life in each of them. On the other hand, the production values and the instrumentation, which while by no means perfect, are lightyears ahead those of the originals. Post – ‘Theatric Sybolisation of Life’ Agathocles is a much more death metal-sounding band and it works really well here. I admit that not everything is good news here.The traditional grinding tandem of vocals is heavily effect-laden (especially the gurgling growl; this is what flushing the toilet in hell must sound like), the drumming is a tad sloppy on occassions and, fifteen years on, most demo tapes sound better than that.

These are however only minor quibbles. Generally speaking,this is just what the doctor ordered if you ask me – old-school grind with a decent sound. Never before had these tracks sounded so convincing. If you are an AG fan and for some reason haven’t heard ‘Back to 1997’, go and get it.