The Aggros’ Parris Mayhew: “I can tell a musical story without a singer – I let the instruments tell it instead”

Parris Mayhew
(Image credit: Barblin Mayhew)

As a co-founding member and guitarist of Cro-Mags, Parris Mayhew’s songwriting and guitar work was a major ingredient in what made their 1986 release, The Age of Quarrel, a trailblazing hardcore-metal classic. 

Now, Mayhew turns his attention to all-instrumental, guitar-driven rock under the moniker Aggros, with a focus on riffing, melodies, tempo changes, and songwriting rather than pure shred, as evidence in new tracks Chaos Magic and City Kids.

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Greg Prato

Greg is a contributing writer at Guitar World. He has written for other outlets over the years, and has been lucky to interview some of his favorite all-time guitarists and bassists: Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Adrian Belew, Andy Summers, East Bay Ray, Billy Corgan, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, and Mike Watt, among others (and even took lessons from John Petrucci back in the summer of ’91!). He is the author of such books as Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music, Shredders: The Oral History of Speed Guitar (And More) and Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story.