ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT — American Paranoia (review)

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT — American Paranoia album cover Album · 1986 · Crossover Thrash Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"American Paranoia" is the debut full-length studio album by US, San Francisco, Bay Area formed hardcore/crossover thrash metal act Attitude Adjustment. The album was released through Pusmort Records in 1986. Attitude Adjustment was formed in early 1985 and after playing local shows along side other Bay Area acts like Death Angel, Vio-Lence and Forbidden and thereby gaining valuable experience and also popularity among local crowds, the band entered Peter Miller Studios to record the "Dead Serious" demo, which eventually got them signed to Pusmort Records. The original version of "American Paranoia" features 16 tracks but some later reissues feature the tracks from the "Dead Serious (1985" demo as bonus tracks.

The music on "American Paranoia" continues the fast, aggressive, and raw hardcore that the band also played on the the "Dead Serious (1985" demo. In fact most of the tracks from the demo are included here in re-recorded versions. The attitude is savage with aggressive shouting vocals, fast drumming and buzzing punked guitar riffs, and while there are mid-paced heavier sections on the album, the pace is mostly really fast and the delivery aggressive and "in your face". The material are pretty standard for the genre and aren´t the most memorable out there, but there are some pretty killer tracks on the album that stand out a bit more than others.

The sound production is unfortunately a bit weak, featuring a very thin and powerless guitar sound, and it´s a bit of a shame, because if you´re familiar with the "Dead Serious (1985)" demo, that release featuring a very raw and lo-fi live sounding production that actually suited the material much better than this "professional" studio production does. "American Paranoia" is widely considered a seminal US hardcore/crossover album from the 80s, but personally I think it´s a pretty standard release for the genre and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted. Had the sound production suited the music better I might have had a different impression of the album, but as it is, I can´t rate it higher.
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