Label: Self released
Date: July 8th, 2022
At first glance at the promotional e-mail I thought this was a new Terror record. For those unfamiliar, there’s a quite successful American hardcore band called Terror. I got quite excited, to tell you the truth. Alas, I was wrong. The band in question is actually called American Terror and “Where We Are” is their second album.
Looking further into the information I managed to find, it seems that this is sort of an “all-star project” founded around the time that pandemic hit the world. The debut got published in the middle of 2020 and here’s the successor. Furthermore, the debut was published by David Ellefson’s label. The band members come from, to name only the most famous, Skid Row and Sugar Ray.
The name-dropping could go on for a while longer, but that’s of lesser importance to the music found on “Where We Are”. Announced as a mix of heavy metal and punk, it sort of lives up to the expectations. Sort of, though. I’m not talking about your regular crossover band. There’s metal in here and there’s punk as well. But it’s all quite modern. I dare say this is a mixture between modern, nu metal and punk made mainstream in the 1990’s.
To elaborate on that, I believe Soil, Mudvayne, Rage Against The Machine and to a certain degree the industrial frontrunners like Fear Factory are the main influences for American Terror. At least on the metal side of their music. On the other hand, the track simply titled “Attitude” reminded me of “Slave to the Grind” by the mentioned Skid Row. It has that “punky” touch similar to the famed classic. Regarding the punk aspect of this quartet, Blink 182, The Offspring or Sum 41 are the ways to go. With a slight Orange County hardcore line that appears here and there. Minus the cheesy pop part, because American Terror is brutally honest, straight in your face, addressing the current social issues without any sugarcoating whatsoever.
Among the extremely direct, foulmouthed lyrics that are constantly aiming at the bull’s-eye of nowadays problematic society, the driving force to “Where We Are” is the catchiness of the music behind. It is there that the experience of the band members comes into spotlight. They know how to create memorable segments and tie them together into songs that stick to your mind. Of course, the main piece remains the chorus which needs to be nailed into the memory of the listener. American Terror reigns supreme with that. Each of eleven tracks on the album has a hit potential. None more so than “End of America”, the mentioned “Attitude” and “N. L. M.” Two of which are already selected as singles and we’re still waiting for “No Lives Matter”.
Rest of tracks are also very catchy, making the record quite possibly an extreme success. Especially on their own continent where music like this almost became a part of their cultural heritage. And there’s not many records of this quality in recent years. Plus, with the subjects covered on “Where We Are” it is certain the album will include the “parental advisory” sticker which is always an incentive to buy it. And the more it sells, the more likely it is to become a thorn in the side of power holders of the world.
When Rage Against The Machine turned out a money-grabbing concert sell-out, the explicit nature of American Terror is certainly an excellent replacement.
