Probably THE most consistent hardcore band around, Terror have been spitting out their particular brand of hardcore  for 16 years now and have yet to put a foot wrong. So no pressure for the new one boys. Fortunately Total Retaliation not only keeps up that fine reputation, but may even surpass a lot of their previous work. This is how a hardcore album should sound.

While some bands experiment and tinker with their sound leaving a bad taste in the mouth, you’ll have no such problems with Vogel and the boys. Kicking off with a juicy riff and future classic in the making This World Never Wanted Me is going to see mosh pits explode everywhere it’s played while the thrashier Get Off My Back will ensure that a circle pit will closely follow. The band seem to follow the tried and tested hardcore formula of finding a brutal fast riff that eventually locks into a killer groove which, while it may sound easy on paper, very few bands actually do it well. Terror have become the masters at it. One More Enemy and Break The Lock are perfect examples of this. In Spite Of These Times sounds like something S.O.D might have written in 1985 and once again, I can see the pits kicking off as soon as the band launch into this number. A brief respite follows when the band drop some hip-hop on us in the form of Post Armageddon Interlude, with a heavy nod to towards their buddy Vinnie Paz. Crew shouts are the order of the day on the brutal I Dont Know You. Behind The Bars carries a heavy NYHC influence in the vein of Madball and while most albums have played out their best tracks by now, they choose to leave one right until the end. Resistant To The End smashes all their influences into one great song and is the track that perhaps sums up Terror best.

Terror are back and they sound better than ever. Total Retaliation is a totally modern hardcore album but with its roots firmly planted in the old school. If anyone tells you hardcore is dead, play them this… Chris Andrews