Extrema

In the early 1990s, Extrema briefly stood as Italy's leading heavy metal act, though that moment of prominence faded almost as quickly as it arrived. Tommy Massara launched the group in 1986 alongside vocalist and guitarist Andrea Boria, bassist Luca Varisco, and drummer Stefano Bullegas. Among the nation's earliest thrash metal outfits, they issued the We F**kin' Care EP in 1987, moving 3,000 copies through grassroots circulation alone. Domestic audiences remained slow to support homegrown metal, so over the following four years the band—now rebuilt with Massara recruiting vocalist Gianluca Perotti, bassist Mattia Bigi, and drummer Chris Dalla Pellegrina—served mainly as support for touring foreign acts including Slayer, D.R.I., and Corrosion of Conformity. To attract attention from Italian industry figures, Extrema began mailing demos to overseas writers and funded a single New York City performance. The approach succeeded when their 1991 four-track demo drew notice from prominent international outlets, securing a contract with Contempo Records. Tension at the Seams appeared in 1993, earning opening slots on Vasco Rossi's stadium dates and a slot at a Torino metal festival that also featured Megadeth, the Cult, Suicidal Tendencies, and Metallica. The record included an unexpected yet effective version of the Police's "Truth Hits Everybody," while the video for "Child O' Boogaow" received heavy airplay on Italy's Video Music channel. To close that peak year, the band released the six-track live EP Proud, Powerful 'n' Alive and then completed roughly fifty Italian concerts before moving to Flying Records for their follow-up. Issued in 1995, The Positive Pressure (Of Injustice) benefited from stronger production values and shifted their thrash approach toward the style then favored by Pantera and Machine Head. Metal's popularity was already declining, however, and disappointing sales led to the band's dismissal from the label. Massara sustained the project, issuing Better Mad Than Dead in 2001 after a five-year gap. V2 later picked them up for 2005's Set the World on Fire. Pound for Pound followed on Scarlet Records in 2009, and the group returned once more with The Seed of Foolishness in 2013.