Terror : "Pain Into Power"

 I prefer the other band Todd Jone's is in . Nails to these guys. But 20 years in the hard core game is no joke. Jones has returned to produce their 8the album. The entire album clocks in around 20 minutes. Often the songs are so fast and aggressive they speed by and it is hard to tell where on ends and the other begins. "Unashamed" has the kind of frenzied fury that reminds me of S.O.D.  The lyrics "make no mistake, this was no passing phase, the passion remains" says they are true to hard core in ways the ever shifting social culture of today can not aspire to. I appreciate the conviction, but if adherence to the genre causes all songs to begin to sound the same in the assault of tough guy break downs then I might call it into question.

As long things are not rushed and the riffs have hooks on the level of " Outside the Lies" then I am cool with it., or even a fan. The more mid paced hard core of " One Thousand Lies" still has the emphasis on the right parts at the right times and keeps you engaged.  When things are blast ahead at the frantic pace of " Can't Let Go" it sounds like every other metallic hard-core band who does this sort of thing,. George Corpsegrinder Fisher lends his growl to " Can't Help But Hate", which is little more than an accent though I appreciate how angry the song is and it's more deliberate moments,.  "On the Verge of Violence" is a social commentary, things are kept both tense and intense on this song. Though it sounds more like every New York hard core band from the 90s.   

The riff leading into "Prepare for the Worst" reminds me of the Cro-Mages, which is a positive. While i appreciate the sentiment of the lyrics when the song really takes off it losses the more creative edge it had by conforming to what it should sound like. The last song has more of a thrashy gallop to it's chug, but falls in line with your standard hardcore. I will give this album an 8 as it is very well done and fans of the band should be pleased even with the more overt metal direction, but they are true to themselves for sure.