EXTREMA – Set The World On Fire

The internet is such a great thing, isn’t it? By pure coincidence Metal Express discovered Extrema on their Myspace profile and guitar player and founder of the band, Tommy Massara, was nice enough to send in a copy of their new CD Set the World on Fire, being released on the 12th of November, 2005.

The band was founded back in 1986, but most of the definitive line-up didn’t get together until 1989. Like mentioned earlier, Tommy Massara on guitars founded the band, then landed singer GianLuca (G.L.) Perrotti, and bass player Mattia BeeGee. A newcomer is the hard-hitting drummer and youngster of the band, Paolo Crimi.

Even having released five albums before Set the World on Fire, Extrema might be news to a lot of Metal fans. In their own country (Italy), they are considered to be one of the biggest Heavy Metal bands. They have supported bands like Metallica and Vasco Rossi (one of Italy’s biggest rock stars), and played huge gigs with other bands like Motley Crue and Slayer. Norway’s own golden boys, Silver, supported Extrema on their tour in Italy last summer, and both bands have great things to say about each other!

Extrema is not your typical Italian band. They definitely have their own sound and they have, incredibly enough, managed to mix that up with all kinds of influences of other typical favorite bands, like Metallica, Soundgarden, Slayer, Anthrax, Beastie Boys, and Suicidal Tendencies.

One thing is for sure, by making this album; Tommy Massara and GL Perrotti, who have written music and lyrics for almost all of the songs, have not made it easy for themselves, because none of the songs have the typical verse-verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus-fade, and there is so much going on in every song. These guys definitely are a talented band that must have to spend a lot of time practicing on difficult grips and tones.

The production is ultra-professional, and it’s rare to listen to an album where every instrument is so clear. A good thing for the listener is that the album doesn’t get boring and you can really hear that the band and the people that have contributed to this have really given their best. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of drums, vocals, bass, or guitars, all band members get to shine their glory on every tune.

G.L. Perrotti has a really strong and distinctive voice. He has the spectre of James Hetfield (Metallica), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), and the thundering hurricane voice of Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) within him … and that sure is something to brag about as a singer. For laughs, the band have actually added “Ace of Spades” (cover from Motorhead) at the end of their CD, and their version is actually better than the original one.

Most of the album is up paste and very Modern Metal, with some Rock and Grunge elements, and two of the songs that really stand out are “Nature,” which sticks to your mind instantly, and “Stupid White Man,” with a very cool guitar start, which sure gets your attention quickly. of course, they have been nice enough to throw in a couple of ballads. “Free Again” is a beautiful acoustic guitar tune, and “Carol” is a wonderful instrumental tune with piano played by Fabrizio Simoncioni.

For some reason, the best Italian bands of 2005 both start with EX … and those are EXILIA (Exilia Review) and EXTREMA. So if you’re only buying a few Italian CDs this year, make sure these are at the top of your list!