ALBUM REVIEW: Caustic Attack – Terrorizer

Iconic grindcore band TERRORIZER have emerged from the depths once again to unleash their fourth album, Caustic Attack, on an unsuspecting world via The End Records. Drummer Pete Sandoval, the only ever-present in the band, brings in ex-MONSTROSITY vocalist and guitarist Sam Molina on bass and vocals and current MONSTROSITY guitarist Lee Harrison on guitars to complete the line up. 

The album starts off just as you would expect: with the rapid fire assault of Turbulence. This turns out to be a suitable name for the hectic intro to the song. Its soon very apparent where this album is heading, because from then on in, it’s just full on carnage and some classic extreme metal. Invasion follows this trend and while the album throws a couple of different approaches along the way, you have the two one minute blasts of Caustic Attack and Poison Gas Tsunami  close to the end just to make sure you hadn’t become too relaxed.

The changes in pace are both subtle and expertly placed along the course of the record. The Downtrodden and Conflict and Despair are notably a shift down a gear or two in pace, but they are still full of malicious intent. The Downtrodden especially throws you off guard when it seems to fade out temporarily before coming back for one last thrash for the final thirty seconds. There are even some memorable hooks and melodies making an appearance (on songs like Infiltration and Sharp Knives), before they are soon battered into submission by the next wave of violence. The band seem in perfect harmony and everything is measured and timed to perfection. They will give you just enough time to come down to a slower tempo before the fury returns with a vengeance.

Caustic Attack is an old school, gimmick free and pretty straightforward album. Though it is maybe a bit one dimensional at times, the musicianship on show means this album is definitely 45 minutes well spent. TERRORIZER may never again reach the levels of their legendary debut album, World Downfall, but times have changed, and this band have also changed massively. This may not cover much new ground or be massively original, but at what they do they are damn good and you don’t want anything else from a band like TERRORIZER. Being released under that banner may get some purists wound up that it’s not the classic lineup, but taken as an individual album and forgetting about the legacy of the band, it is a fine offering that few will match for its savagery.

Rating: 8/10

Caustic Attack is out now via The End Records.

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