When I heard that Terrorizer had reformed and would release a new album, I was both surprised and excited. This group was known for two things – a single album, 1989’s World Downfall (which was actually recorded after the band broke up), and its famous alumni. Guitarist Jesse Pintado moved to England and joined Napalm Death, while drummer Pete Sandoval joined Morbid Angel. David Vincent of MA also played bass on World Downfall, which was a landmark of death metal/grindcore before those terms ossified into separate genres.
Pintado left Napalm Death after 2000’s Enemy of the Music Business, and Morbid Angel has been milking reunion tours for way too long. So I was curious what Pintado and Sandoval had to offer. Unfortunately, they’re the only original members here. Vincent isn’t present for whatever reason, and supposedly Oscar Garcia is with Nausea now. The new faces are vocalist Anthony Rezhawk and bassist Tony Norman, whom you may recognize as one of Morbid Angel’s many 2nd guitarists over the years.
In a world of Pig Destroyers and Rotten Sounds, Darker Days Ahead (on Century Media) doesn’t have the force it would have had, say, 15 years ago. However, it’s solid death/grind; the sound hasn’t changed much. I’m not a huge fan of the production. Juan “Punchy” Gonzalez mixed and engineered this album; he also worked on Morbid Angel’s Heretic, which has much of the same, ironically, not-punchy sound. My biggest gripe is with the drums, which sound natural but soft. However, the guitars are firing – no solos, no bullshit, just riffs, riffs, riffs. The only aberration is a strange but cool avant-garde piano outro by Sandoval (who is evidently a piano virtuoso). Rezhawk’s vocals sound amazingly like Max Cavalera’s. Listen to “Crematorium” and tell me “Territory” doesn’t come to mind!
Terrorizer – Crematorium
Terrorizer – Nightmare
Pintado passed away recently (RIP), so it’s difficult to hear this album objectively right now. But while it isn’t the classic that World Downfall was, I think time will bear it out as a fine legacy for him. In his memory, Earache is offering a free downloadable compilation of tracks from his career. As for Darker Days Ahead, you can find it
When I heard that Terrorizer had reformed and would release a new album, I was both surprised and excited. This group was known for two things – a single album, 1989’s World Downfall
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