Terror – Always The Hard Way

I’m actually a pretty big fan of Terror. Even if they have “tough-guy” lyrics and come off kind of silly at times, I enjoy the way they sound. As far as One With The Underdogs goes, that was my general opinion. This album doesn’t really change up their style at all, it’s like adding fourteen extra tracks to their last cd. But I’m completely fine with that, I’d prefer that this band doesn’t change much than change for the worse(that statement is more conservative than I’d like to admit). What’s going to bug me is the hundreds of bands that pop up trying to all sound and be just like Terror.

This is a bit of a digression, but I think it needs to be said(again). I was reading the liner notes to one of the songs on this album(One Step Behind) and it simply states that the hardcore scene lacks originality. Trends are picked up and forgotten in weeks, bands quickly go in and out of popularity, and something is always heavily marketed. I remember a year ago, the hardcore scene was filled with guys wearing girls pants, make-up, hundreds of facial piercing’s left and right, and more metal-influenced bands than I can name. Now its changed a little, it’s guys wearing crooked baseball caps, basketball shorts, and moreTerror clones than I thought possible. I just don’t get it, it seems that to fit in you have to look like a moron. I could probably name a dozen bands that sound jut like Terror(although some may have come before), so I will; Donnybrook, Hatebreed, Furious Styles, Triple Threat, Madball, Icepick, E-Town Beatdown, First Blood, Guns Up!, Hoods, Know The Score, and Kids Like Us.

Anyway’s, there’s a few things Terror has done a little bit differently on this album. For one, they’re playing faster and not as chuggy, although there are still a few parts in some songs that get into some pretty painful breakdowns. But unlike the last album, the music is a bit more complicated, the guitarists riffs move along quickly, the drummer plays far more double kick rhythms, but the bass player kind of seems like background noise. Not that the music was that complicated to begin with, I could play most of their songs after about 10 minutes or so, its just that their speed makes them fantastic. The back-up group chants are used a lot in all of their songs too, and there’s guest vocals on a few songs too. Everyone loves guest vocals, or at least I do.

I definitely would have bought this cd if it hadn’t been given to me, it was on my “to buy” list. Although it doesn’t sound much different than One With The Underdogs, it’s a great cd to listen to. It makes me want to brawl or dance or go to a Terror show. I can’t wait for the day that I look back and realize I was a chump for listening to this band, but that probably won’t be for a while. I recommend acquiring this album though, it’s pretty good.