Official press release:
Italian thrash-metal ambassadors Extrema first broke out onto the metal scene in 1985 – regarded to this day as one of the best live acts to ever emerge from their home country. Now, Extrema is ready to unleash their latest offering and follow up to 2013’s The Seed of Foolishness, entitled The Old School EP, out May 27, 2016 via Punishment 18 Records. Vocalist G.L. Perotti and co. have churned out a classic metal burner featuring five tracks originally written during the band’s heyday – primarily unheard as finished recordings until now.
The Old School EP is available for pre-order now on CD, limited edition vinyl (only 250 copies available) and iTunes digital versions.
The Old School EP embodies the spirit, immediacy and brutality of the years in which its tracks were originally written, accented by fresh, pummelling production. Recorded last year at Fear Studios in Alfonsine (Ravenna, Italy) with The Seed of Foolishness producer Gabry Ravaglia, these tracks do not just prompt the “old school” cliché – they are the real deal – recorded in classic brutal fashion with only minimal writing tweaks.
All five tracks were originally written in 1987, shortly after the release of Extrema’s We Fuckin’ Care EP. Only one of these songs saw the light on an album – “Life” was originally released in 1993 on the band’s first full-length album Tension at the Seams. The track has been re-recorded for The Old School EP in addition to tracks the band is known for performing live-only or releasing as raw demos on rare tapes, including “Child Abuse”, the instrumental “M.A.S.S.A.C.R.O”, “Tribal Scream” and “Carcasses”.
In addition to those tracks, The Old School EP will feature two bonus tracks, including live versions of “Life” and Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades”, both recorded in Rome, Italy.
The Old School EP track listing:
1. “Life”
2. “Carcasses” (feat. Ralph Salati of Destrage)
3. “Tribal Scream”
4. “Child Abuse”
5. “M.A.S.S.A.C.R.O.” (feat. Bob Capka, formerly of Vicious Rumours)
6. “Life” (Live in Rome)
7. “Ace of Spades” (Live in Rome)
The idea came to guitarist Tommy Massara while tidying Extrema’s audio archives. He began listening to a tape on which there were no notes or text records of any kind.
Massara states:
“These were very rough recordings that we planned to put on the album before 1993’s Tension at the Seams that instead never materialized, and here they ‘magically’ popped out at me. I was amazed by the speed at which we played even then and I thought it would be fun for us and for the fans if we re-recorded them nearly 30 years later. People get to hear what we did when many of those who follow us now were not even born! It is possible, however, that their parents could have participated in the ‘collective massacres ‘ at the time… if this is not old school, I don’t know what is!”
The Old School EP marks the band’s first recording session with new drummer Francesco La Rosa, who recently replaced Paul Crimi on drums. It will be clear why his nickname is “Frullo”, which means “whipper” in English!
La Rosa will perform with Extrema during their EP showcase presentation on May 21st at Legend Club in Milan, Italy.