StarBulletin.com

Coming to terms with Terror


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POSTED: Friday, January 30, 2009

Talk about sticking to your core strength!

Scott Vogel, frontman for the metallic hardcore band Terror, hits just one note.

               

     

 

TERROR WITH CORRUPT ABSOLUTE AND WE BATTLE ON

        On stage: 6 p.m. Saturday
       

Place: Pipeline Cafe

       

Tickets: $20, all ages

       

Call: 354-ROCK or visit www.ticketmaster.com

       

Also: Autograph session with Terror at 1 p.m. Saturday, Hawaiian Island Creations at Pearlridge Center

       

       

The whole time.

And he shouts it at the top of his raspy, burlap-sack lungs, hence the term “;frontman”; instead of “;singer”; or even “;vocalist.”; Judging by Terror's latest album, “;The Damned, The Shamed,”; his trachea must be scarred.

By definition his performance is, in the musical sense, monotonous; that is, he utilizes a monotone, but the effect is not dull. Vogel and his fellow Terror, uh, -ists, come on strong, loudly, with great precision and might. The band plays with real urgency, but also with impressive clarity—tight as a tom-tom.

The California band's twin rhythm guitars bolt on the buff-shined steel plates to the rough-and-tumble rhythm section. With the stentor Vogel haranguing out in front, the sound is a near-perfect example of the merging of metal and punk. Thrash? Metalcore? Terror brings it.

Then there is the matter of that moniker. The band's worldwide fanbase includes a sizable following among members of the U.S. military, so it's best to remember: Don't cede the word “;terror”; to the murderous psychos, or else the terrorists win. Returning to the dictionary, “;terror”; means: 1. intense fear, and, 2. a) a person or thing causing intense fear; b) the quality of causing dread; terribleness. So it's safe to say Terror will reign.

               

     

 


Terror: The Damned, The Shamed
www.terrorhc.com

MySpace: Terror: The Damned, The Shamed
www.myspace.com/terror

       

MySpace: Underworld Events Hawaii
underworldevents.com

       

       

Phoning from Los Angeles, Vogel reacts to the observation that his speaking and performing voices are dissimilar by growling with the latter sound, “;What do you mean?”;

Then, in his offstage voice, he explains his style: “;I just kinda scream. Obviously, I don't really sing. I've never taken any lessons or anything. It's just what comes out.”;

Vogel says Terror is influenced by both the metallic acts (Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse) and punky bands (Hatebreed, Gorilla Biscuits) with whom they've played. Pressed to define “;hardcore,”; however, he balks.

“;That's pretty hard to answer. I don't know. People should just go to a few shows and find out for themselves.”;

Informed that some of the newer lexicons define “;hardcore,”; he says that he's going to scare up a dictionary and find out for himself.

But his questions about Saturday's venue may provide a better clue about the band than any wordbook. Vogel, who has a penchant for stage diving, asks, “;Is there a barricade? What are we getting into here?”;

Joining Terror will be, at the bottom of the bill, Oahu's own We Battle On. This young hardcore outfit earned the slot by topping other local bands in a showcase earlier this month at Anna Bannana's.

Slugging it out in the middle section of the show is Corrupt Absolute, recently returned from their third extensive tour of China. The overly hirsute metal-and-hardcore trio will undoubtedly generate intensive roughhousing in the moshpit.