By Five-Inch Taint
Hailing from “the barren wastelands of Cheyenne, Wyoming,” as they note in their bio, Violent Testimony have released a banger of an album in Aggregate. Released on October 17, 2025, Aggregate gives the listener 21 tracks in about 26 all too quick minutes. This is definitely an all thriller, no filler type of album. I had the pleasure of seeing them at the Thrash Zone in Cheyenne in 2025, and I was blown away by the energy and chaos of this band. At that show, they announced they were releasing an album later in the year. I eagerly awaited its release. And, thankfully, the wait was worth it, and the hype I built in my head was actualized.
Before I bought the album, I knew that it would pulverize my brain with its vicious, uncompromising riffs. But once I was able to sit with the music and listen to it repeatedly, I developed a different appreciation for Violent Testimony. Aggravate delivers on its promise of crushing extreme metal and so much more. On their website, they write that they are a “devastating combination of grind/death/thrash metal.” This combination comes through clearly throughout their tracks. However, what makes this album particularly enjoyable is the way that they are combined and the hidden bonus of a hardcore inflection not listed on their site. Many of the songs have the chaos of a grind band, the fast (and catchy) riffs of a thrash band, and the harsh, low growls of a death metal band. However, it all comes together in what I’d like to call a “legible dynamism.”
It is so easy for grind bands to really dig into the chaotic, frenetic element of the genre. In general, I love the short bursts of energy and the pandemonium. It hits something shallow in my ADHD brain. Sometimes, though, grind albums have difficulty in creating a compelling full-length album where the tracks are distinguishable from one another. I find some thrash to be the same way. You get it after a song or two. That does not mean it is not enjoyable, though.
Aggravate, however, manages to avoid this trap through its legible dynamism. Now, I don’t have a definition for legible dynamism, I just figured the way to get attention is to make up a concept. But if I were to try to pin it down, I would say that the legibility of the music refers to the band’s ability to make music where all the elements of a song are clear and can be easily understood in relation to one another. Dynamism, in this context, speaks to the energy and change present within a song and between tracks. Something has legible dynamism when the energy and change come through in a clear, coherent way (even amidst the chaos).
Violent Testimony achieves this in several ways on Aggravate. Right out the gate in track one, “God Complex Massacre,” you are pummeled over by the frenetic guitar and drum. There is no room to breathe. The harsh, screaming vocals at the beginning of the song adds another layer of abrasiveness. Classic grind. About 20 seconds in and the riffs start to change towards a more thrashy style. The tempo doesn’t change much—still fast and frenetic—but the feeling does. It’s not so much a dip in intensity, but a change in its quality. Thirty-five seconds in and the vocals switch to a low, guttural growl. Again, same level of intensity, just a different feel. Throughout the rest of the song, the riffs and the vocals bounce back and forth keeping your interest for its entirety. Taken separately, each element is great. Put together as a whole, you end up with an emergent legible dynamism. This dynamic is present in most songs of the album, providing enough within song variation to keep you enthralled.
This legible dynamism is also present between the various songs. Going from “God Complex Massacre” to the second track, “Piss Vomit Acid Corrosion,” is almost like switching to a different album. Instead of choking on the chaos of grind, you are introduced to a more hardcore punk feel only to be immediately thrown back into the grind. It’s almost as if they code switch between grind and hardcore throughout the song. It is executed beautifully.
Violent Testimony manages to maintain this legible dynamism throughout the album combining their grind/death/thrash roots in a variety of ways keeping the listener engaged. It is hard to lose focus in a 26-minute album. That, though, is not necessarily the sign of a quality release. Aggravate manages to keep you engaged and present for your 26-minute aural assault.
I hope that Violent Testimony keeps playing and releasing new music. Hopefully, they can inspire a more vibrant extreme music scene in the “barren wasteland” that is southeast Wyoming.
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