{"id":19371,"date":"2012-03-19T10:58:14","date_gmt":"2012-03-19T15:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19371"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:04:25","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:04:25","slug":"halloween-terrortory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/halloween-terrortory\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween | Terrortory<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Halloween \u2014 and no kids, not the once Kiske-led Helloween \u2014 have just released their fifth studio album in their 27 years of existence. Titled Terrortory<\/em>, the album somehow picks up where they left off with classics like Victims of the Night<\/em> and Don\u2019t Metal With Evil<\/em>. Hailing from Detroit and obviously topically influenced by the likes of Alice Cooper, Halloween plays a unique amalgam of NWOBHM intertwined with good ol\u2019 fashioned American Classic Metal. There\u2019s also Doom elements inside the interwoven tapestries of the sonic nightmares they lure you into, making Terrortory<\/em> one of those albums impossible to say \u201cthey sound just like (some freakin\u2019 other band).\u201d<\/p>\n

How else would you want this album to begin with besides \u201cTraipsing Through the Blood?\u201d Before you get off track and think it\u2019s a murderous winter serial killer song, it\u2019s actually \u2026 an uplifting call to arms, a Marine-like \u201cseize the day\u201d anthem that belies the visceral title. \u201cWhy do we never care, until it\u2019s way too late? Why do we waste our time; we play with fate.\u201d The lyrical content is a query into cowardice, the sin of hesitation, of self-apathy. With the serrated riffing from guitarist Don Gurrier, the machine-gun like unforgiving rhythm section, and vocalist Brian Thomas\u2019 foreboding and damning delivery \u2026 the guys set the bar unbelievably high with this opener.<\/p>\n

The title track \u201cTerrortory\u201d nearly holds up against \u201cTraipsing Through the Blood.\u201d The galloping guitar riffs are the most mesmerizing ingredient in this concoction. Although simple, like an AC\/DC riff, it\u2019s implants itself into your brain tissue and becomes impossible to remove even as you move on to the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

The next two tracks alone make this album worth purchase. \u201cImages Quite Horrible\u201d is a nasty, Metal Church-y type composition, breakneck and frothing at the maw. Fans of that type of music will shriek when they hear \u201cImages Quite Horrible.\u201d With deft tempo changes and an overabundance of moribund, it\u2019s a highlight. But then so is \u201cHer Ghost Comes Out to Play.\u201d This is the first time the band dials back the speed if only for a moment, uses foreshadowing to lull you into a false sense of safety, and then pure NWOBHM-type riffs began assaulting you. \u201cRemember when you took a life? You \u2026 murderer! Remember how you didn\u2019t care \u2026 do you \u2026 remember?\u201d Akin to a King Diamond tale, this is Halloween at the top of their game. Every single facet of this song works; it\u2019s no wonder modern bands like Cauldron eagerly announce Halloween as one of their influences. What was once will be again \u2026<\/p>\n

Where Halloween runs into a corpse-filled roadblock, if there is one, is that there\u2019s so much music to digest here. Over an hour in length and with 16 songs, after a while, the songs begin running into each. Of course, that isn\u2019t the case with \u201cScare You,\u201d another blazing dark fantasy. \u201cI\u2019ll never let you go; I\u2019ll be there with you, after you\u2019re dead. I will scare you!\u201d Please don\u2019t send this to an ex on Valentine\u2019s Day \u2014 you\u2019ll find yourself under arrest or in a straightjacket, or both.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot One\u201d is one of the slower tracks on Terrortory<\/em>. It\u2019s an acoustic-led dirge at the onset, with Thomas\u2019 honest vocals up front and center. He wades between a forthright full voice to an eerie falsetto, not as high as King Diamond but surely just as menacing. Halloween isn\u2019t about writing ballads, though, so by two minutes into the song it goes back to that doomy, mid-tempo pace most of the songs stalk you with. Oh, and that\u2019s only song eight \u2026<\/p>\n

The most unnerving tracks towards the end are \u201cReinventing Fear\u201d and \u201cHands Around My Throat.\u201d The most oddball one is the sloppy, sort of Misfits takeoff on \u201cSay Your Prayers.\u201d The swirling and evocative \u201cDead On \u2026\u201d is Halloween reminding you to stop thinking they are a one-trick pony. Instead of funereal, it\u2019s graceful and sorrow-laden.<\/p>\n

Terrortory<\/em>, whether it finds an appropriate audience or not, deserves a listen. If you are into NWOBHM-influenced horror Heavy Metal, this is the band to check out. While seemingly blunt in its musical approach, you\u2019ll be surprised to find the multiple layers beneath the surface of tracks like \u201cDead On \u2026\u201d and \u201cHer Ghost Comes Out to Play.\u201d Keep digging and digging until the flesh\u00a0grates off your\u00a0fingers\u00a0\u2026 you are bound to find something worthwhile on Terrortory<\/em> \u2026<\/p>\n

Genre: Horror, Classic Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nBrian Thomas\/vocals
\nGeorge Neal\/bass
\nRob Brug\/drums
\nDon Gurrier\/guitars<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Traipsing Through The Blood
\n2. At The Gates
\n3. Terrortory
\n4. Images Quite Horrible
\n5. Her Ghost Comes Out To Play
\n6. Caught In The Webs
\n7. Scare You
\n8. Not One
\n9. Darkside Inside
\n10. Re-Inventing Fear
\n11. I Lie Awake
\n12. Hands Around My Throat
\n13. Say Your Prayers
\n14. Where Is Michael
\n15. Dead On
\n16. Into The Afterlife<\/p>\n

Label: Pure Steel Records<\/p>\n

Online: www.halloweentheband.us<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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