TERROR

Amplifier Bar

Friday, October 2, 2009

Hardcore only comes in one strain for Californian outfit Terror: no-holds, straight forward and aggressive as all hell. The no-bullshit / no-gimmick approach adopted here has become a firm badge of pride for this band. Basically, what you see with Terror is what you get – and that attitude has earned them respect leagues above many of their hardcore contemporaries. But this is all old news for longstanding fans. What is news is these five men were back in our fair city again, for the third time since their inception, to deliver a taste slab of tunes from their latest work, The Damned, The Shamed (2008).

Perth boys Lost For Words lit the flame of tonight’s proceedings. Formerly known as Strong Finish, these familiar faces went through a re-branding earlier this year. And you know what the greatest thing about these guys was? They were awkward and completely geeky, but as soon as they got down to business, their passion, drive and sheer musical force blew minds. With an EP due out in December, there is a pretty high expectation for ‘all killer and no filler’ from this crew.

With this show being Extortion’s final effort before they head off on a national tour, the rumour windmill was rife. Posting on their website that it will be their last show in Perth for some time, at this stage for reasons unknown, one has to ponder. Whispers on the night were moving in the direction that these much-loved lads may not be considered a ‘local’ act in the next few months. So every fan, new and old, were treating this gig as a last ditch chance to pay homage, with frontman Rohan and company only too happy to reciprocate. As always, their nihilistic chemistry was insatiable. And, although the sound mix tended to drown out the vocals a tad, both band and pit were left dripping with sweat and satisfied by the end.

Orange County’s Stick To Your Guns were next in line. It was easy to see that many had come on the night just to see these Californians make their Perth debut. But although they had the die-hards thrashing their little hearts out, many were left with mixed feelings. Not for lack of enthusiasm though, mark that. It was almost as if this outfit could not connect their internal passion for their music with the audience and the performance was left lacking. Particularly when the clean vocals came into play on Enough Is Enough. Though the crowd did explode for the standout, and more well-known, track This Is More with mic shares all around.

Los Angeles’ Terror could do no wrong. Shoving a fistful of Lowest Of The Low down our eager ears as a pleasant introduction, they proved once again that being pissed off at the world produces some of the best hardcore. And seven years on the road has done nothing to diminish the fact. The hatred practically seethed from them and Perth knew just where they were coming from. Producing one of this biggest circle pits in Amps in eons, this was just under an hour of unbridled aggression. Making sure they covered all bases from their four full lengths, vocalist Scott Vogel tore the head off his lyrics and spat them to us with no preaching filler. One With The Underdogs, Out Of My Face and favourite Push It Away represented Terror’s older flavour with the pit loving every bit of newer tracks Betrayer and Suffer, To Return Harder from latest effort, The Damned, The Shamed (2008).  An act that has to be seen to be believed, Terror trademark raw performances instil a little hope in the value of hardcore for us all.


_JESSICA WILLOUGHBY