ALBUM REVIEW: Pain Into Power – Terror
It takes TERROR all of 53 seconds to silence any doubts about their eighth studio album Pain Into Power. Veterans they may be at this point, but, as the record’s title track comes raging out the gate with a bone-crushing beatdown following swiftly in tow, it’s clear that the hardcore legends can still deliver with all the urgency and ferocity of bands some 20 years their younger. Of course, urgency is very much the name of the game here – as it pretty much always has been. Pain Into Power asks for just 18 minutes of your time, and we strongly suggest you oblige.
Not that they needed much help, but it seems part of the vigour TERROR exhibit on this new record comes down to their reunion with original guitarist Todd Jones (now of NAILS), who sits behind the desk here. His production lends TERROR renewed bite, a raw edge that was perhaps missing from 2018’s Total Retaliation. He also joins the band on guitar for eighth track The Hardest Truth – a crushing highlight even amid stiff competition.
Jones isn’t the only guest on Pain Into Power either. Lead single Can’t Help But Hate features none other than George ‘Corpsegrinder Fisher of the legendary CANNIBAL CORPSE. It’s another of the record’s best moments, with Corpsegrinder trading off throat-wrecking barks with the inimitable Scott Vogel. Elsewhere, Unashamed sees the band bolster their ranks with Madison Watkins of YEAR OF THE KNIFE and Crystal Pak of INITIATE for a gang vocal-laden burst of chest-beating defiance. The breakdown here is predictably massive, with Vogel and co. shouting proudly of the band’s long championed beliefs in brotherhood, sisterhood and unity.
As good as it is, one still has to admit that Pain Into Power does just sound like TERROR. They’ve never been big on reinvention, and to be honest why should they? Just because we know what’s coming doesn’t mean its punches ever really fail to land. Beatdowns, gang vocals, quickfire riffing – these are the band’s bread and butter, and they haven’t skimped on servings of any here. The tight runtime is a good call too; it turns the record into more of a shot in the arm, ending just before it gets tiresome or tedious.
Perhaps only real change is that Pain Into Power is thematically a little darker than we often get from TERROR. No doubt influenced by the general state of pretty much everything, Vogel embraces his fury powerfully here. On recent single Boundless Contempt for example, he declares “Blind rage breaks through / A boundless contempt for you / My rage consumes / A boundless contempt for you”, while ninth track On The Verge Of Violence offers a scathing meditation on a host of issues plaguing the band’s home country, and indeed many others. It’s another absolute ripper, its easily grasped hook rounding out a particular peak as it follows the aforementioned The Hardest Truth and Can’t Help But Hate.
With all this, it’s clear TERROR have still got it. If you came to this record looking for something new, you’ve kind of missed the point. This is a band doing exactly what they’ve always done best, and while there’s a time and a place to push the envelope, you can’t really go wrong with a group this consistent.
Rating: 8/10
Pain Into Power is set for release on May 6th via End Hits Records.
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