Agony-The First Defiance (Music for Nations) 1988
1. "Storm of the Apocalypse" (5:47)
2. "First Defiance" (4:35)
3. "Execution of Mankind" (7:32)
4. "Mass Munipulation" (4:50)
5. "Night of the Emporer" (5:44)
6. "Shadow Of Fear" (5:32)
7. "Madness Reigns" (5:25)
8. "Deadly Legacy" (5:27)
Technical thrash metal was a new thing in the late 80's. Germany seemed to have a large population of killer thrash bands, and Agony was one of them (at least I assume this is where they are from). Anyhow, Agony are from the same school as bands like Kreator, Believer, early Sepultura, etc. They thrash fast and heavy, but with a top-notch technical precision matched by few. Part of what puts this band above the average is that they don't play 100mph throughout the disc and they avoid the whole thrash metal polka thing. There is plenty of variety throughout, yet without sounding confused or uninteresting. This particular disc I believe is out of print. My copy was a gift from a friend in Germany.