It took me a while to decide to take up vinyl. I saw it as an extra waste of money for my music addiction. But regardless, I bought a player and on my first thrift store vinyl ransack, I was converted. Among other albums, I picked up one that looked older and had a “The Leading French Punk Group” sticker right on the front. “Hey, they’re leading; they got to be good. I’ll give this a try.” Am I glad I did.

Volcano’s L’agression is an epic album that combines the intense presence and vocals of the Stooges with the fancy dual guitar work of the Rolling Stones. I found most of my information about this band from a Google translation from the “France Metal Museum” web site. This helped a lot because the hell if I know any French.

The album kicks off with “Mais C’est Seulement Du Rock and Roll” ("But It’s Only Rock and Roll"), a song that begins with an ominous growl and continues with a delicious mid-tempo punk beat and features a some riffs that would make Keith Richards jealous (or call his lawyer). The title track ("Aggression") is where the Stooges or MC5 similarities start.

On a few songs, especially “Fille De Joie” ("Daughter of Joy"), the bass player shows he is no slouch. But for every song, the band makes sure to let the guitarists have a showcase of their considerable talents. This makes the album drag a bit at the end.

I was extremely lucky that I found this band at my local thrift store. I would have never heard this band if I hadn’t taken up vinyl. If you don’t quite buy into the whole “it’s a better quality sound” excuse for collecting vinyl for whatever reason, then please also consider the large world of bands that you may never hear unless you “downgrade” your listening method. You might find it rewarding.