I know there are many times that you just sit there and wonder where did some bands find the guts to do some stuff while their members' background doesn't allow many things to be done. As you can understand, there are three factors that define the career of a band, hard work, luck or extraordinary promotion. AGRO is one of the bands that made me wonder about some stuff.
So, AGRO consists of six members and was formed in 1992 in Guateng. You don't know where Guateng is? Neither did I until I searched to find some info about this band. This band comes from South Africa, a place with not so good history regarding Metal music. They have up to now changed four record labels and now, Ritual 6 is released through Armageddon Music. This album is their sixth one and I still wonder how these guys managed to do so many stuff while being in a country with not so many opportunities (some stuff seem reasonable, you will understand the reason below).
One thing that seems pretty reasonable is that in August 2000, AGRO performed at Wacken Open Air in front of 45.000 people. Do not get excited. This band belongs to Armageddon Music, right? Who organizes Wacken? I think you got the point. Anyway, AGRO has a pretty weird style that even if its not something usual, it still manages to sound boring after some auditions. AGRO's music is like a mixture of the mid-tempo moments of SOULFLY, a thrashier version of IN FLAMES, Stoner elements and some influences from the Swedish Death/Thrash scene. Basically, the only thing I understood while listening to this CD is that this band hasn't decided which Metal genre appeals to them most. There are times these guys perform catchy Thrash riffs and then the keyboards enter and the whole thing changes into a more melodic break. Other times the keyboards create a more epic atmosphere. The production is not bad but it is not the best possible, too. The work that has been done on the backing vocals is not even decent and some times it ends up being tiring. Ritual 6 is an album that someone can listen to 2 or 3 times and then put it aside.
I think that most of you value your money and don't like to spend them on releases that will end up nothing more than decorative stuff in your room. That's why I think that AGRO's Ritual 6 is not the album that you would like to spend your money on.