Get this: I'm on my way to Mexico where my company has a factory. I'm in transit in Amsterdam and waiting
at the gate. Guess who's in front of me in the queue?! Jeff bleedin' Walker! In
my book, this man's a legend and he's right there in front of me in a line for a
flight to Mexico! Am I chuffed or what? Had to say hello, of course. Needless to
say. Bloody hell!
Now, this review is about the latest release from another legendary grindcore
band, namely Terrorizer. I'll allow myself to be completely straight-forward and rather
blunt from the outset: I'd expected something more
powerful than this. Where Napalm Death hit the Album of the Month spot on this
site last month, the other of the late Jesse Pintado's primary bands isn't
exactly the top of the pops. Unlike 'World Downfall' this certainly is not going
to make history.
Hey, I know, I sound awfully negative, and I'm truly sorry. I reckon I'd
expected a lot and is therefore more prone to be disappointed. If I take one step back,
as I should, 'Hordes of Zombies' isn't a bad album per se, it's just nowhere
near legendary.
Pete Sandoval is as always a true demon behind the kit, and he's most certainly
recovered from his back injury. Good to hear.
A slight problem is that he kind
of stands alone. I don't know if I can explain this properly, but to me it
sounds as if the Commando did his piece (and did it well), and then the rest of
the band tried to add something on top of it. They didn't QUITE manage to hit
the bullseye.
Terrorizer anno 2012 sounds a fair bit like Slayer, more Slayer than I remember
the two previous albums did. Especially the track State of Mind sounds a lot
like something Tom Araya and Co. could have done, and, as it happens, that very
song is the best tune of the album, I think.
In conclusion, 'Hordes of Zombies' is all in all a fine album, but don't expect
it to blow your mind entirely as I'd hoped it would.
