You don’t get more groundbreaking or influential in extreme music than Terrorizer. The band’s “World Downfall” still stands as a solid template for past, present and most likely future grind outfits that want to specialise in the genre. Face ripping riffs, disemboweling drums, eye gouging bass lines and inhuman murderous vocals all make grind what it is, but what makes Terrorizer so special is the way they meld all these facets into albums that will burst your stitches in melody. Terrorizer has spawned a plethora of acts such as Wormrot and Insect Warfare, trying to capture that “World Downfall” vibe of menacing terror and to some extent some of the bands have succeeded. Terrorizer released “Darker Days Ahead” to a mixed reception in 2006 the result of which was Terrorizer seemingly going on the back burner until now that is. Since that album the metal and grind world has lost one of its greatest exponents, namely the gifted Jesse Pintado, and for many including myself whether Terrorizer would even release any more albums was in serious doubt. Thankfully Jesse has long lasting legacies in a handful of influential bands; Napalm Death, Lock Up, Brujeria and of course Terrorizer. His replacement Katina Culture has resulted in “Hordes Of Zombies”, an album that returns the band to the days of anarchic grinding mayhem as Ave Noctum’s Martin Harris caught up with vocalist Anthony Rezhawk, aka Wolf for everything Terrorizer to date.

Many thanks for spending the time answering these questions for Ave Noctum. The new album is marvellous and a great reflection on what Terrorizer’s music is all about.

Wolf: Thank you for the positivity, we appreciate it, we feel the same way about our new work.

Ave Noctum: What did you do differently on “Hordes Of Zombies” compared to “Darker Days Ahead” as some thought it lacked power and that savage Terrorizer spirit?

Wolf: For one, it’s all new fresh material (no old songs).  It was produced by me, recorded by Kat, and mixed/mastered by Dan Swano at Unisound.  Plus the fact that we have new blood on guitar (Kat Culture) does help bring the spirit of the band back to its brutal legacy.

Ave Noctum: Why has it taken so long for this third album to come out? How did you get people together for the album?

Wolf: I’m not too sure why it took so long.  We wrote the songs back in 2008, tracked all the drums in Jan 2009, and in the spring of 2009 we finished a demo which we sent to Leif Jensen at Clandestine music. Again, we’re not sure why it took so long, but I guess things happen when they’re supposed to.  As far as getting people together for the new album, Pete approached me about a new record, then Pete and I brought Kat in the band.  We actually already had someone else on the session bass playing duties, but it was Season Of Mist who suggested us to get David Vincent.  We thought he’d be too busy with Morbid Angel’s new release ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’.  To our surprise he was interested in participating as a session bass player for this release, so he made time from his busy schedule to participate at that level.

Ave Noctum: Would you say each of the band members regular band activities has contributed to the making of “Hordes Of Zombies”

Wolf: The biggest contribution in making this album happen has been Terrorizer’s legacy.

Even though ‘Darker Days Ahead’ wasn’t a great success, it did pave the road for our future work.

Ave Noctum: What is the reaction you are expecting old Terrorizer fans to have when they hear “Hordes Of Zombies”?

Wolf: True fans will be pleased!  We consider this a brutal onslaught of grind/death that can definitely wake up the dead.

Ave Noctum: What was the recording process like for this album without Jesse? You just have missed his input and ideas.

Wolf: Of course we miss his physical presence, but I can tell you that he was present in spirit when we wrote the songs.  Jesse and I had a very similar interest in music.  Back in our early teens we would spend time listening to the tapes he was trading, and also exchanging notes on bands we liked.  So considering our history, it’s safe to say that he would’ve been happy with this new Terrorizer album.  So no matter what, Jesse will always be an influence for this band.

Ave Noctum: How did you go about choosing the replacement for Jesse, as that must have been tough to do?

Wolf: The hardest part about finding a replacement for Jesse was the fact that he is no longer with us.  But getting Kat Culture onboard was actually the logical progression for us.

For one, Jesse played and recorded one album entitled ‘Welcome to Reality’ along with Kat and me in Resistant Culture (our other band).  Jesse really liked playing in Resistant Culture and enjoyed playing guitar with Kat.  He considered her a shredding guitar warrior.  One time he even told me that we should get her as a second guitar player in Terrorizer.  Kat was the last guitar player to share the stage with Jesse before his untimely passing.

Ave Noctum: Who is responsible for the song writing on the new album as it owes more than a hint to the old Terrorizer style?

Wolf: It was Kat and I who wrote all the songs from a concept I had in my head for quite some time.  We actually got together to record 4 to 5 songs for a demo, but since we tapped into the spirit of the band in a good way, the spirit gave us 13 songs and tons of riffs that we would later use.

Ave Noctum: Where did you record this album and was there any reason for the choice made as the sound feels more old school grind like?

Wolf: We recorded this album at the Resistant Culture studio inLong Beach,CA.  And yeah it was a conscious decision to make an old school rooted album, one that would embrace the traditional values of Terrorizer mixed in with a more modern production.

Ave Noctum: The guitar sound is damn vicious, was this something you thought about prior to recording or just something that occurred naturally?

Wolf: It was something we definitely wanted and sought out to do.  Of course Dan Swano made it possible.

Ave Noctum: The vocals are particularly barbaric, was this something that was aimed for?

Wolf: Most definitely! We wanted brutal yet audible vocals that could deliver the spirit and feeling of the lyrics.  We’re definitely satisfied with the results.

Ave Noctum: Would you say that “Hordes Of Zombies” captures a true grind sound? Has it got everything you set out to achieve?

Wolf: For me grindcore (since its inception) has always been about the mixtures of punk and metal elements.  In our view and perspective we’ve delivered the essence of the band’s spirit, we didn’t really think of formulas or anything of the sort.  We weren’t interested in creating an album to please any cookie cutting pattern that people seem to always want and expect.  So with that in mind, I’ll have to say that we achieved our desired goal.

Ave Noctum: Are there any particular songs that stand as your favourites now that it has been completed?

Wolf: That’s really hard to say as we like them all, but as of today, they’ll have to be ‘Hordes of Zombies’, ‘Ignorance and Apathy’, and ‘A Dying breed’.  Tomorrow it might be different ones.

Ave Noctum: As a band you all have different styles in playing, how did you come to a common focus for the album? Did anyone have overall decision making at all?

Wolf: When Kat and I wrote the songs, we sent them to Pete for review, he loved them right away!  He had no objections to anything.  Since David joined us (as a session bass player)at the last minute, he had to jump on board as it was, meaning we only asked him to play the bass on the recording since all the material was already written.

Ave Noctum: What lyrical topics have you chosen to write about on this album, is there any political or social commentary stuff that grind bands tend to write about?

Wolf: That is definitely one trait of grindcore that I appreciate.  Exploring brutal reality lyrically has always attracted me to punk and grindcore.  ‘Hordes of Zombies’ deals with eco, social, political, and in some cases spiritual (not religious) topics.

Ave Noctum: Did you have any significant influences for this album at all?

Wolf: The influences for this album come direct from the heart.  These influences range from black, death, and grindcore.  In the end we’re fans of extreme metal overall, and in our case we are what we listen to.

Ave Noctum: Are you only taking one album deals for Terrorizer material as the previous one was on Century Media and this one is on Season Of Mist?

Wolf: Yeah, for the most part we’re dealing with one album at a time. I guess we (the label and us) want to see where things go.  So far so good!

Ave Noctum: Will we have to wait another six years for album number four which I sincerely hope not?

Wolf:  We’re already working on new material for a new album.  So the answer is no!  We’ll have a new record ready by 2013.  Can’t wait!

Ave Noctum: Will the band ever tour at all? If so do you have any plans already put in place? My ideal tour line up would be Terrorizer, Napalm Death and Nasum all on the same bill. It would be awesome don’t you think?

Wolf: Not sure about tours at the moment, but I can tell you that Terrorizer will play live shows in support of ‘Hordes of Zombies’.  I’d have to agree with you, that would be an awesome line-up!!

Ave Noctum: What are the plans for Terrorizer in the future especially with everyone having other bands?

Wolf: Play live and record as much as possible.

Ave Noctum: Is there anything you’d like to say Ave Noctum readers that we haven’t covered already?

Wolf: To everyone reading this interview, we’d like to wish you the best in these dark and uncertain times. Be aware of your environment, be your own leader, make your own choices, don’t follow the herd as it’s usually heading towards a cliff.

On behalf of Ave Noctum once again many thanks for the interview and best wishes for the future.

Wolf: Thank you Martin for the awesome questions, you pretty much covered everything.  Your readers will definitely get a full view of our perspective.

Stay grind,

So there you have it, Terrorizer are back and here to stay and I for one will look forward to those live dates with absolute relish. Let’s just hope the band hits the UK in the not too distant future.

 http://www.terrorizergrindcore.net 

Martin Harris