J.J.D.'s Reviews And Interviews Blog: June 2008

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Bellusira Interview

For more information on Bellusira, check out - https://www.facebook.com/CrystalIgnite.

Fight – War Of Words - The Film

Fight
War Of Words - The Film
Metal God Entertainment/Riot! Distributors

For more information on Fight, check out - https://www.facebook.com/robhalfordlegacy.

Shai Hulud – Misanthropy Pure

Shai Hulud
Misanthropy Pure
Metal Blade Records/Stomp Records Distribution

For more information on Shai Hulud, check out - https://www.facebook.com/ShaiHuludUnincorporated.

Testament – The Formation Of Damnation

Testament
The Formation Of Damnation
Nuclear Blast Records/Riot! Distributors

For more information on Testament, check out - https://www.facebook.com/testamentlegions.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Terror - The Damned, The Shamed

Terror
The Damned, The Shamed
Century Media Records/Stomp Records Distribution

A soild outting for one of hardcore's best
Long running Los Angeles (California) based hardcore act Terror are back with once again with the follow-up to last year's stop gap E.P. "Rhythm Amongst The Chaos" (Which was released through Reaper Records) with their third full-length effort "The Damned, The Shamed" (The official follow-up to 2006's "Always The Hard Way"). Having recently signed to Century Media Records (After completing contractual obligations with Trustkill Records), Terror (Who comprise of vocalist Scott Vogel, guitarists Doug Weber and Martin Stewart, bassist Jonathan Buske and drummer Nick Jett) are obviously determined to get their hardcore message out to the masses. But while some may have had some concerns about the band signing to a predominately metal label, they needn't have. Terror has always been a hardcore band first and foremost, and "The Damned, The Shamed" is pure Terror through and through.
The opening track "Voice Of The Damned" is everything you would expect from a Terror track. The guitars are played with plenty of aggressive energy, and Vogel spits out pure venom with every vocal line. Producer Zuess has once again given the band a crisp and sharp sound, without losing any of Terror's trademark live bite and sound. From here on in, there's not a real lot change of direction on the album compared to Terror's past output, but there's no real disappointments either.
The energetic "Relentless Through And Through" is a definite stand out with its inclusion of a shredding solo, while "Rise Of The Poisoned Youth", "Lost Our Minds" and "Crush What's Weak" keep the album moving at a frantic pace. "What I Despise", "March To Redemption" and "Feel The Pain" are big vocalised anthems that bleed the old school feel of hardcore, while the darker feel of the mid-paced "Still Believe?" and the album closer "Suffer, To Return Harder" give the album some much needed variety.
Overall, "The Damned, The Shamed" is old school hardcore in the tradition of Agnostic Front, Madball and Cro-Mags, which is exactly what you expect from a Terror album. And while Terror's latest release still falls short of surpassing their incredible first couple of releases (2003's "Lowest Of The Low" and 2004's "One With The Underdogs"), "The Damned, The Shamed" is still head and shoulders above a lot of so called hardcore releases emerging from the scene these days.