Album Review: Terror-Keepers Of The Faith

Los Angeles hardcore act Terror doesn't fuck around. They have kept their no bullshit style of hardcore alive through many trends and helped shape the current hardcore scene. On Keepers Of The Faith, Terror continues their reign as one of the kings of modern hardcore.

Keepers Of The Faith would make the founding fathers of hardcore proud. Terror knows how to do hardcore right. Make intense tracks yet balance that intensity with postive lyrics and a fun attiude. Terror does that and then some. Album opener "Your Enemies Are Mine" opens the album with a bang. The riff is vintage hardcore and vocalist Scott Vogel brings a ton of energy to the track. Terror keeps the intensity at breakneck levels througout Keepers Of The Faith and you have to admire the emotion and power that is put behind every track. The instrumentation is a bit more complex than usual for Terror and that was a nice surprise. There is a good variety of riffs and none of them feel recycled in any way, shape or form.

Keepers Of The Faith is a must listen for any fans of the hardcore genre. Terror are one of the "Keepers Of The Faith" for the hardcore genre. Any old-school hardcore fan of bands like Sick Of It All and Cro-Mags should check out Terror, they are keeping the hardcore genre alive right now. This is the best Terror record since One With The Underdogs. Keepers of The Faith is the hardcore record of the year (still haven't heard the new Sick Of It All but that is the only hardcore record I can of that could top it) and should crack my Top 20 overall of the year.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Hell and Back
2.Your Enemies Are Mine
3. Shattered

October In Film

October tends to start the real fall movie season after the dead month of September rolls through. Personally, there is not much this October that excites me but there are a lot of films coming out this month and there is a pretty wide variety as well. Here is my thoughts on October's films

Films I Am Excited About
2.Red(October 15)- Bruce Willis is my favorite actor of all time, so right off the bat I knew I wanted to see this film. It has an all star cast in addition to Willis including Morgan Freeman,John Malkovich,Mary-Louise Parker and Helen Mirren(playing a hitwoman, best casting ever). The trailer looks great and it has been a while since a pure action-comedy has been released.

1.Jackass 3-D(October 15)-Yes the film I am most excited for this month is Jackass 3-D. Maybe it because i'm 18 years old but Jackass just makes me laugh my ass off and this one looks like it will deliver the goods as usual. Also best use of 3-D to date, I already know they are going to pull some of the craziest stunts they have ever pulled to make full use of the 3-D.


Films I Am Unsure About
The Social Network(October 1)-I had zero intrest in seeing untill about two weeks ago when the insanely good reviews started pouring in. I don't tend to get overly excited by critical reception but this is different as it had 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores as of Tuesday. That being said, I still don't know how this works as a film even with someone as good as David Fincher directing and the trailer makes looke like an absolute snooze. The jury is still out for me on this one, Will most likely see it eventually

Let Me In(October 1)-This film looks alright but again great critical reception early on and it is the remake of Let The Right One In(which I have not seen yet). Apparently, the remake does the original justice with some critics even saying its better. I am curious to see this film and I most likely will but I am doing so with caution.

Buried(Opens Wide October 8) The concept intrests me but at the same time Ryan Reynolds trapped in a box for an hour and a half could be really bad.

Stone(October 8) I haven't seen the trailer yet but a drama with Edward Norton and Robert De Niro could be pretty damn good.

Hereafter(October 15) The trailer looks pretty dull but Clint Eastwood is one of the most brillant directors of all time. I am extremely unsure about this one.


Films There Is No Chance In Hell Of Me Seeing
Case 39(October 1)-This film has been delayed for 3 years, they shot it before Bradley Cooper made The Hangover for christ's sakes. Cooper and Rene Zellwigger both look very confused in the trailer and this film looks like absolute dog shit.

Life As We Know It(October 8)-This seems a really predictable romantic comedy drama, not really my cup of tea at all.

My Soul To Take(October 8)-Wes Craven finally jumps on the 3-D bandwagon(Note: it was a 3-D conversion job in post-production, so the 3-D should be terrible) and boy does it look it bad. Another dull looking slasher flick with a cast of unknowns. Craven should hang it up if this what he is resorting to now.

Secretariat(October 8) I love inspirational sports films but even I draw the limit sometimes and that limit is horse films. No thanks.

Paranormal Activity 2(October 22)-The first one was the worst film I saw in 2009 so I will be avoiding this sure to be shit sequel. I love how they advertise the first film to be so filled with terror when there is nothing even remotely scary about it unless you shit your pants at gusts of wind. The 2nd one looks exactly the same and you can bet I will be no where near the theater when this comes out.

Saw 3D(October 29)-The alleged final chapter of the Saw franchise. I haven't seen a Saw film since the third one and I don't really care to see this one, I have been long bored of these films.

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #66-65

66.Municipal Waste-The Art Of Partying(2007)

Muncipal Waste is gonna fuck you up! That is the phrase that is chanted frequently throughout album closer "Born To Party" and I could not possibly think of a better way to describe this record. The Art Of Partying is a non stop party thrash record. Municipal Waste just wants to have a good time and that is demonstrated with songs with titles such as "Beer Pressure" and "The Inebriator". Muncipial Waste are among the kings of the new thrash movement and The Art Of Partying is their defining piece of work.

Standout Tracks 1.Sadistic Magician 2.Beer Pressure 3.Headbanger Face Rip

65.Lacuna Coil-Karmacode(2006)

Italy's Lacuna Coil had always a lot of potential. Their first three records were all good releases and had established Lacuna Coil has a solid,consistent act. Karmacode is when they really came into their own, this record is goth-metal bliss. The dark overtones are put into play early on with opener "Fragile" with the haunting vocals of Cristina Scabbia sound even better than before. Scabbia is the standout on this entire record and her vocals are pitch-perfect and truly astonshing. Throughout the duration of Karmacode, it is become more and more evident that is Lacuna Coil's most mature,heavy and best work.
Standout Tracks 1.Fragile 2.Within Me 3.What I See

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #68-67

68.System Of A Down-Hypnotize(2005)

Hyponotize was the 2nd album System Of A Down released in 2005. Even though Hypnotize had more non-serious tracks than its predecessor Mezmerize, I find Hypnotize to be the stronger record. Both records are dazziling and prove once again why System Of A Down is such a special band. Hypnotize opens with a bang with one of my favorite System ever "Attack". "Attack" is ultimate environmental protection song done as only System Of A Down can do it. As the album progresses you get such gems as the haunting title track "Hypnotize", the heavy as shit yet strangely catchy "Stealing Society" and the face melter "U-Fig". As usual its not all serious with System Of A Down. Tracks like "Kill Rock and Roll" and "Vicinty Of Obscenity" lighten the mood with their extreme levels of strange. Hypnotize is equal parts engrossing,experimental,serious and goofy and is a triumph of a "final" record for System Of A Down.

Standout Tracks 1.Stealing Society 2.Attack 3.U-Fig

67.Eminem-The Eminem Show(2002)

By the time 2002 rolled around, Eminem was on top of the world. He had released two of the greatest rap records ever recorded with his past two and The Eminem Show continued his trend of greatness. Altough its no Marshall Mathers or Slim Shady LP, The Eminem Show is still a fucking great record. It still has the geniune emotion and Eminem's quick wit that make Eminem so great. Hell "Superman","Sing For The Moment", "Without Me" and "Say What You Say" are absolute classics but what brings this album down a little bit is the 1 or 2 misfires on this record. That being said, The Eminem is still quite the achievement and it pains to me to say that at this point in time, this is the last great Eminem record.

Standout Tracks 1.Superman 2.Sing For The Moment 3.Without Me

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #70-69

70.Baroness-Blue Record(2009)

Unlike their previous Red Album, which took time to grow on me. I loved Blue Record right away. Blue Record takes what made Red Album great and just makes it even better. The riffs and harmonies on "The Sweetest Curse" and "Swollen and Halo" are gorgeous. Blue Record is a strangely pretty and full of the sludgey prog metal that Baroness is so good at.

Standout Tracks 1.The Sweetest Curse 2.Swollen and Halo 3.Jake Leg

69.Lazarus A.D-The Onslaught(2009)

When it comes to the "thrash revival" movement, pretty much no one does it better than Lazarus A.D. The Onslaught is one of the most impressive debuts I have heard in my entire life. This is what modern thrash should sound like and they soundly put some of the lesser new thrash acts in their place (*cough cough Evile, Gama Bomb cough cough). The Onslaught is full of sick riffs and furious solos and is a must listen for any thrash fans.

Standout Tracks 1.Thou Shall Not Fear 2.Last Breath 3.Revolution

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #72-71

72.Killswitch Engage-As Daylight Dies(2006)

Killswitch Engage is one of my favorite bands of all time. They are one of the bands that layed down the blueprints of metalcore. On their 4th record, As Daylight Dies Killswitch continues their winning formula. Howard Jones is seriously one of the best vocalists around. His clean vocals are truly astonishing and his screams are perfect. Top to bottom As Daylight Dies is extremely strong. It has many layers,slick production and in typical Killswitch fashion top-notch metal. Despite not being Killswitch's strongest album, it is still noteworthy.

Standout Tracks 1.This Is Absolution 2.Daylight Dies 3.Unbroken

71.Lamb Of God-Sacrament(2006)

Sacrament, like most Lamb Of God albums is just plain dawn awesome. Sure Lamb Of God might not be the most creative band on the planet but that doesn't make their music not fantastic. Tracks like "Walk With Me In Hell and "Descending" are fucking epic. The overall sound of these tracks are apocolyptic. In addition to these tracks, you have the always fun, R-rated sing-a-long song "Redneck" and the groovy "Foot To The Throat". Lamb Of God is one of the most consistent bands in the entire metal genre and Sacrament is no expection to that rule.

Standout Tracks 1.Walk With Me In Hell 2.Descending 3.Foot To The Throat

Best Albums Of The Decade(2000-2009): #74-73

74.All That Remains-The Fall Of Ideals(2006)

All That Remains's breakthrough album is a hell of a record. The Fall Of Ideals moves at a blistering pace with tracks that are full of tight guitarwork,melodic choruses and all around intensity. All That Remains has crafted one of the essential metalcore records of the past 10 years. This is their crowning acheviement and their stepping stone to the wildly sucessful band they have become.

Standout Tracks 1.The Air That I Breathe 2.This Calling 3.We Stand

73.Avenged Sevenfold-City Of Evil(2005)

I expected some shit for putting this record on the list. Avenged Sevenfold is one of the most hated bands in the metal/hard rock scene mainly because of their image and really corny stage names. I will admit their image and stage names do both suck but their music(outside of their new record Nightmare) I enjoy. City Of Evil in particular, is an amazing record. Synster Gates's guitarwork is absoultely crazy. Tracks like "Sidewinder" and "Beast and The Harlot" are where Gates's furious fretwork is at its finest. In addition to Gates's guitarwork, the Rev puts on a damn clinic on the drums. For Avenged Sevenfold, this record is their fastest recorded to date as well as their best.

Standout Tracks 1.Sidewinder 2.Beast and The Harlot 3.Blinded In Chains