Introduction: Dan "G" Hamill

It’s rare when someone can say that “they were there at the beginning” and not be exaggerating…or outright lying. It’s even rarer when someone can say they were there at the end as well. But I was able to take this journey, from the basement of a Long Island bowling alley where DeSanto and Kruger had the balls to face an audience who were there primarily to see a hip hop show, with only a bass, a sequencer and the knowledge that they were probably the two smartest guys in the room. To a burnt out and deserted hotel on the outskirts of Moscow that for an evening pulled itself together enough to host the Aggression, now made up of childhood friends of DeSanto. It was yet another gig that proved challenging, as the young Muscovites seemed more interested in the booze they could drink, the drugs they could score, the temptations of cheap whores, and the fags who tried to molest our Kidd. It started badly, and from the reaction of Ash as the last note played, seemed to have ended worse. But in hindsight, it was a great way to go out. If only Robin could have provided the beats.

So what did it all mean, from Long Island to Russia and everywhere in between? Maybe I’m the wrong guy to ask. Yes I was lucky enough to be there for the majority of it, but frankly, I don’t even like industrial music. And all these guys are my friends, how can I be partial? Putting all that aside, here’s the deal. The Aggression, in whatever form it took over the years, were uncompromising. They refused to cater their sound for a certain audience. They played every gig like it was their last. They made huge noisy records with tiny budgets. They met and earned the respect of the influential leaders of the industrial genre, establishing both social and working relationships. No, they didn’t make much money, and they didn’t sell many records, but what they did have was so much more important, conviction and confidence. These two qualities were what got The Aggression out of a Long Island bowling alley, and over to Mother Russia.

(Editor’s Note: The aggression actually performed AFTER Russia, and G was there, but don’t tell him that)