Album Review: Terrordome - Straight Outta Smogtown
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
A gentle acoustic guitar is joined by its electric brother, the latter eking out a calming little solo. 49 seconds of serenity before all hell breaks loose as ‘Possessed by Blyat’ erupts with breakneck speed. The first breakdown is needed, purely to catch the breath but it lasts mere seconds before the accelerator hits the floor to bring this rapid-fire blast to an end. Welcome to the nasty, bludgeoning crossover thrash of Krakow band Terrordome.
Over 40 minutes and 14 fireball songs, the Polish quartet of guitarists Uappa Terror and Paua Siffredi, bassist Virious and drummer Rob Sixkiller batter the living shit out of their instruments in a head down no-nonsense wall of thrashing riffs that could move boulders. This is their third album, and it takes no prisoners. Terror (real name Mateusz Lapxyński) also handles the vocals, and his screaming hyperactive delivery is a snug fit for a band who can also clearly play a bit. What’s also impressive about Terror’s vocal delivery is his lack of desire to adopt any accent, the resulting Polish intonations on his pronunciation adding to the energy and authenticity.
The thrash may be rudimentary at times, with the blueprint closely followed, but the crossover style combined with a gritty, S.O.D sound is likely to appeal to those who want real in your face aggression. There is nothing but balls out fast paced thrash metal and after repeated listens, it improves. Laced with lyrical topics that follow politics, social observation, warfare, corruption, and ecology, Terrodome has a message that they are intent on delivering. There is no holding back on tracks like ‘Your Personal Comfort versus the Global Disaster’, ‘Money Kills’ or ‘Plastic Death’ and certainly no avoiding the clear and obvious messages the band are conveying.
If you want comparisons, then add elements of Razor, Nuclear Assault, early Slayer and Cryptic Slaughter and you’ll be warm enough. The driving power of Terror and Siffredi propel the band forward, with their relentless slicing and riffing. The tracks come thick and fast, with the longest song on the record clocking in at a mere 3:50. Terror spits and snarls his lyrics, the punk aesthetic that is heavily laced throughout on tracks like ‘Ego Boost Downfall’ and ‘I Don’t Care’. Strip away the powerful, muscular approach and there lurks a band with a real message. Listen to the lyrics of ‘Conspiracy’, and you’ll get the point. This is a band that cares.
With elements of Sepultura, Anthrax and D.R.I. in the mix, this is an album which combines visceral power with a barely controlled passion which results in one brutally impressive release. A plethora of guests including Frank Blackfire (Sodom, ex-Assassin), Manu Joker (Uganga, ex-Sarcofago), Jairo Vaz (Chaos Synopsis), Friggi Mad Beats (Chaos Synopsis, ex-Attomica) and Konrad Ramotowski (Untervoid, ex-Hate) add even more fuel to this blaze. As fierce as you will want or get in 2021.
