J.J.D.'s Reviews And Interviews Blog: August 2006

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Terror - Always The Hard Way

Terror
Always The Hard Way
Trustkill Records/Roadrunner Records/Universal Music Australia

After having made a major impact on the hardcore scene with their debut full-length album "One With The Underdogs" in 2004, Los Angeles based act Terror are finally back with their follow-up release "Always The Hard Way", and it's very much what you would expect from the old school act. With a bit of reshuffle to the line-up (Former Buried Alive/Despair/Slugfest vocalist Scott Vogel, ex-Sworn Vengeance/First Blood guitarist Doug Weber and ex-Carry On drummer Nick Jett remain from the original line-up, while Donnybrook guitarist Martin Stewart and ex-The Promise/Rag Men/Another Victim bassist Jonathan Buske replace Hatebreed's Frank '3Gun' Novinec and First Blood's Carl Schwartz respectively), and producer/mixer/engineer Zeuss behind the consoles, Terror manages to hit back harder than ever.

Terror slowly introduce "All For Revenge" with some gentle guitar feedback, but it doesn't last with guitarists firmly laying down some heavy riffing and Vogel roaring out heavier than ever on the album's opening power charge. With the tone set for the album, Terror continue to pulverise with "Strike You Down" and "Survival Comes Crashing In", while the title track "Always The Hard Way" and "Lost", as generic and cliché as they initially sound, are huge melodic anthem based numbers that are sure to get diehard followers singing along with Vogel in the live sense.

The brief (Ninety seconds) "Last Of The Diehards", "You Cant Break Me" (Featuring Death Threat's Aaron Butkus on co-lead vocals), "So Close To Defeat" (Featuring guest vocals from Leeway's Eddie Sutton), "Test My Convictions", "One Step Behind" and "Hardship Belongs To Me" all represent the fast and aggressive side of the band, while tracks such as "Hell To Pay" and "Smash Through You" show a little tempering of pace, which adds a little more diversity to the album overall. The only track not to make the grade is the rather short (Minute long) hip-hop number "Dibbs And Murs Check In" (Performed by experimental turntablist Mr. Dibbs and L.A. rapper Murs), which interrupts the flow of the album and serves little purpose other than to showcase Vogel's love of hip-hop.

Terror don't really provide anything unique and cutting edge to the hardcore scene on "Always The Hard Way", but what they do manage to achieve is build upon their debut in every conceivable way. For crushing hardcore that completes with the likes of Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Madball and Cro-Mags in the old school stakes, check out Terror's latest.