LA’s very own Terror have been releasing quality hardcore music now for 15 years and they return once again with another awesome offering in the form of Total Retaliation… a brutal offering from a band that just seem to be getting better and better with age.
Terror don’t muck here they get straight down to business with the old school sounding ‘This World Never Wanted Me’ before the brutality really takes over with ‘Mental Demolition’… it is short, but to the point and packs a punch. By the time the album got to ‘Get Off My Back’ I was completely hooked – with its great lyrics that make you want to sing along and a fantastic hook, this is the stuff you want to listen to Terror for.
It’s on ‘One More Enemy’ though where it feels like Terror find their form on the album. It suddenly feels mid-song like the band realise they can all do their own thing, and when the various instruments do that the song really takes off. The song then goes to another level with Martin Stewart and Jordan Posner really hitting their strides. Their guitars also shine through on ‘In Spite Of These Times’ and bring a real intensity to ‘Behind The Bars.’
Old school Terror shines through on the brutal ‘Break The Lock’ and the title track while fans may raise their eyebrows, and rightfully so, when the ‘Post Armageddon Interlude’ urges people to kill everyone with a real rap flavour while ‘I Don’t Know You’ sees a little bit of punk crawl onto the album. By far though the best song on the album is ‘Spirit Of Sacrifice’ – it is harsh to the point of brutal and gets its message across in no uncertain terms. Once again the guitars are a stand out while Scott Vogel’s vocals also sound amazing.
Terror have produced another good little album. If you are fan of the band you will certainly be impressed – much like the tracks themselves Total Retaliation is brutal and to the point.
